


Ace Savvy: A New Hope

by UnderratedHero



Series: Heroverse [1]
Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/M, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, heroverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 97,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27409210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderratedHero/pseuds/UnderratedHero
Summary: Royal Woods' hope and optimism vanished away with the death of the city's last great hero. Lincoln, the sole witness of the crime, feels in his heart the responsibility to carry on with his idol's legacy. On his journey, he'll find allies, obstacles, and will begin to uncover the secrets of his past. Can a single boy bring hope back to his city? [Heroverse AU]
Relationships: Girl Jordan/Lincoln Loud
Series: Heroverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002534
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. A bad roll killed my hero

**Author's Note:**

> [Originally posted on FF]  
> So, here are some facts about me: I love AUs. I love superheroes. I love comic books. I love Marvel movies and the MCU, and I love The Loud House.
> 
> This thing I'm starting right now is my big, big, big project. This is going to be definitely more ambitious and important than my latest big project, Requiem for a Loud. I'm gonna replicate the MCU in a fanfiction format.
> 
> This is the first entry of the Heroverse. A series of interconnected stories, all taking place in the same universe, with characters meeting each other, teaming up, and going through their own personal arcs. I think of every story as a movie, and it kinda follows a movie structure. I could not launch this with anything other than Ace Savvy. Lincoln is our cornerstone, and it felt right to kick everything off with him.
> 
> Two little things to mention before we start:
> 
> One: even though everything will be interconnected, the idea is that every single story is a standalone story. Like the Marvel movies!
> 
> Two: Remember, this is an AU. Don't look at Kings of the Con and the Full Deck and think that everyone's going to have the same superhero identity from the show. These are my personal views of them as superheroes, and most of them have nothing to do with what they are in canon.

I'll be honest: sometimes I wish I wasn't a hero.

Being one is complicated. It's exhausting. It's difficult and dangerous. You have to always be responsible, you need to set an example, you must constantly put yourself at risk to protect your community. You have to miss out on dates or game nights with your friends just so you can go outside and help strangers. It takes most of your day and you don't even get paid for it. It's not like you can put on your cape, your mask, and go to the movie theaters asking for a discount on popcorn. People would think that you're taking advantage of your reputation, and that's not very heroic, isn't it?

At the end of the day, though, I feel like I'm doing something that matters. Yes, sometimes it's a little annoying, and yeah, sometimes one would rather stay home than dodge bullets on the street, but I gotta admit that even that has its fun side.

Yeah, being a hero is complicated, but I think I wouldn't trade it for the world.

My name is Lincoln McBride, and this is the story of how I became a hero, all because of one disastrous roll. And just like every great story ever, it began with our heroes hanging out in a tavern.

* * *

Of course, the tavern was imaginary, and the people hanging out weren't exactly heroes, but rather they were my friends and me, but when you're playing Dungeons And Dragons it's ok to refer to yourself as your hero. We were all gathered in my basement, sitting around a table upon which our friend Stella placed our miniatures and drew the maps. She was the one that got us into DnD, and she's such an awesome DM, with her brief but immersive descriptions, her eloquent vocabulary, and her great ability to improvise. She motivated us to become better players, engaged, and creative.

We had all fallen in love with getting into character, acting out our dialogues with funny voices, describing our actions, and even making sound effects every time we made an attack or cast a spell. And I don't want to toot my own horn when it comes to my sewing and design skills, but I had even confected costumes for each one of us, and we loved putting them over our clothes every time we hang around to play!

Ok, look, I could honestly spend hours just talking about the campaign we were playing and how the destiny of the Forgotten Realms was directly tied to our decisions, but that's not really the point of this, so let me just fast forward to the time where rolling dice changed forever my life and the history of our city.

Our heroes had opened their way through a subterranean dungeon crowded with monsters of all kinds. The party was formed by Liam's ranger, Zach's warlock, Rusty's rogue, Clyde's cleric, Jordan's bard, and, of course, my very own paladin, Silver Edge. I chose that name for him because he had a silver, magic sword with a +2 bonification against undead creatures, which I thought was super cool.

After finishing off a handful of giant spiders, we left behind a room filled with magic items and treasure, and we entered what would end up becoming a stage of death.

"You close the door behind you, placing an iron rod against it to keep it from opening from the other side, and you turn around to find yourselves at what appears to be the edge of a cliff," described Stella, giving me the creeps. "The darkness around you is _maddening_ , but the light coming out of Silver Edge's sword is enough to let you pick up some details on the carved stone of the floor. You can tell this cavern isn't natural. A little further, two torches flaring up with a magical, soft fire are flanking the entrance to an old bridge made out of rope and wood planks. There's a soft breeze running through the open space, making the bridge move slightly from side to side, and the very low noise of water in movement manages to reach your ears from down below. Almost like the whisper of a sea filled with condemned souls."

We all exchanged a worried look.

"There's definitely something down below."

"Some giant tentacles are going to attack us as soon as we reach the middle of the bridge."

"Probably."

Stella just smiled at us, which only made us feel more anxious.

"How far away are we from the bridge?" Asked Liam.

"I'd say, uh, about sixty feet. That's roughly the space between the stone wall you came from and the edge of the cliff."

"By Merlin's beard, that was a close one," Zach said, using the deep voice of his character. "I don't know about you guys, but I spent almost all my magic, I only have one spell left. I could really use a short rest."

"Ha! I knew you wouldn't be able to keep up with my pace. I could have taken this mission on my own," said Rusty with a raspy voice that he had chosen for his goth, edgy, dagger-throwing, antisocial assassin. It's not a secret that none of us like his character.

"What Shadowblade is trying to say is that it'd be dangerous to rest in here," said Jordan, speaking with a very formal British accent. It's no secret either that she tends to be the voice of reason in our games. "Even though I could really use a short rest to heal some of my wounds."

"After hearing that, Silver Edge will walk towards Circe and use Lay on Hands on her so she can gain fifteen hit points back," I said almost immediately, taking the first chance I had to help Jordan's character.

I, uh, I guess I should probably mention that I like her.

We had always been good friends at school, classmates ever since we were six years old, but it wasn't until last summer where I began finding myself staring at her more than necessary, trying to be on the same team as her, and getting jealous whenever Liam or Rusty talked to her or put an arm around her shoulders in a casual way. To be honest, I wouldn't have figured out how much I like her if it wasn't for that time when Clyde, as we were lying down in our shared room, pointed it out for me. I didn't understand what these feelings meant, but ever since then, Clyde had been trying to get me to ask her out on a date.

I was, of course, terrified and completely against that idea. I wouldn't be able to stand a rejection, and I didn't want to risk our relationship being ruined because of my feelings. We were only eleven years old, there was no need to hurry, right? No, no, I didn't want to even think about confessing my feelings. That was a responsibility I wasn't ready to take.

But that didn't mean I couldn't spend half my healing on her.

"Very well. How do you cure her?" Stella asked with a knowing grin, moving her hand towards me and Jordan, who was sitting right next to me, in an unmistakable gesture of "show us".

She used to ask those types of questions so we could "get into character", but I was pretty sure she knew about my feelings for Jordan, and she was trying to make me look like an idiot in front of everyone. Or maybe she thought she was helping me, but in that case, she didn't know me enough.

I looked to my right, and Jordan's pretty eyes found mine. I felt butterflies in my stomach, and my throat got dry.

"I raise my hand and I… g-gently put it on Circe's cheek," I said, raising my hand in the air in front of me, but Stella pointed at Jordan once again, and as I moved my hovering hand and placed it on her cheek, I wished that the cliff and the bridge would materialize right there in my basement so I could jump into the void, so no one could see my blushing face. "I close my eyes and think of my oath, and let the divine energy cure her."

I did as I said, closing my eyes, pretending I was trying to get into character when, in reality, all I wanted was to mask the embarrassment I was getting from touching the face of the girl I liked. The contact only lasted for a few seconds, but I could perfectly feel the corner of her lips curling up into a smile. And it was too fast to tell for sure, but I swear I felt her face slightly warmer than usual.

"Thanks, Silver Edge," Jordan said with a smile. She wrote her new hit points on her character sheet.

I tried to respond, but I ended up masking my incoherent gibberish with a fake cough.

"Can we tell what's beyond the bridge, or is it just darkness?" Clyde asked, trying to change the topic like the good brother that he is so I wouldn't die from embarrassment.

Ok, yeah, you'll probably be all like "Brother? But Lincoln, you and him… uh…" Yeah, I know. We don't look like we're related, me with my straight white hair, him with his curly black hair. The truth is that I'm adopted. Clyde's dad and his husband adopted me when I was three years old, so ever since I have memory, he has been my brother and best friend. He's such an inspiration to me. Super smart, super kind, super supportive. He's one of the best things in my life, and I would give it all for him.

"Make a perception check, please," the DM asked.

Clyde grabbed his die, blew some air on it, rolled it, and then proceeded to grunt. "Seven…"

We all looked at each other. Stella smiled. I gulped.

"It is definitely total darkness, you can barely even see the bridge under the soft, green torches. You can make about fifteen feet of it, but after that, nothing. It might go on for thirty feet, or two hundred."

"We can't rest if we don't know what's on the other side of the bridge," I said out loud before looking at Stella. "I'll make a gesture to my friends so they wait here, and I'll try to cross the bridge, see how far it goes. As I'm moving, I'll keep an eye out for anything trying to attack me from down below."

Stella's smirk became even more pronounced, much eviler, and I knew I was walking right into a trap. I would be regretting this for sure, but my character was a hero, he didn't run away from trouble. If he had to walk right into a trap to make sure that his companions would be safe, he would, because that was his personality.

"Before that, Circe will kiss him on the cheek and give him bardic inspiration," said Jordan, writing down the use of her ability on her character sheet before looking at me. "You can add 1d8 to… well, pretty much any roll."

A kiss on the cheek? Seriously? Gosh, why was this girl so nice and pretty? Couldn't she tell that I was crazy for her? I thanked the gesture and tried to look calm as Stella described my character walking onto the bridge, but I couldn't keep myself from stealing looks at Jordan.

I was so distracted that I barely heard Stella describing how halfway into the bridge, a group of zombies came running right at me from the dark. I tried to move back with my companions, but Stella was evil, and from the top of the cavern (not the bottom as we had imagined), a Grick (a twenty-foot worm with an eagle's beak and tentacles around its head) fell on the bridge, standing between my friends and me.

Great.

Not only that but after rolling for initiative, my character ended with the last turn.

Super great.

Again, I don't wanna bore you too much with this, so let me go straight to the point: by the time it was my turn to act, I had already lost most of my hit points. The Grick was a pretty nasty monster and standing at the edge of the bridge, it kept my friends away from me, leaving me all alone. I might have been able to take down one or two zombies in my turn, but unless I could come up with a marvelous play…

I asked Stella for a few minutes to think this through, and no one had a problem with me taking some time to analyze my situation. I had many ideas… I checked my spells, looked back at my hit points, I tried to think of the mathematical probabilities of getting a critical hit… I thought about it over and over again, but in the end, I decided to stop trying to come up with the mechanically most efficient option and just go with what my character would do.

Silver Edge was honorable. He believed in his cause. He was brave, kind, determined. He knew that the party was on the edge of glory, about to do something great for mankind. Millions of lives depended on their mission. He could not let it fail.

Even if that meant that he wouldn't be there to see it completed.

I sighed, and my eyes slowly looked up to meet Stella's.

"I'll use a bonus action just to look over my shoulder, to my friends, my brother, Circe, Shadowblade, all of them… and with my action, I'll cut the bridge's ropes."

It was as if someone had cast Polymorph on Stella's face. Her sassy, fun, evil-ish smirk turned into a look of surprise and terror that almost made me feel bad. She blinked, shocked, and she began to frantically look through her notes as the rest of my friends stood up, scandalized, telling me not to do it, that there had to be a different way, that I was still in time to change my mind. But I had already declared my action, and I wasn't going to back away from it. It's what my character would do.

What any real hero would do.

"I… uh… Everyone… All of you watch as Silver Edge cuts the ropes," Stella announced, clearly affected by my reaction. "The blade shines bright as it moves in the air, drawing a perfect arc that cuts both of the ropes that keep the bridge handing. For a second, for an instant that stretches out and remains forever captured in your memories… it all stays the same. Gravity's not working yet, time stops, and all of your eyes stay connected to your friend. And then, when the fraction of a second passes… the bridge falls, dragging down with it the dozen of zombies, the grick standing in front of you, and Silver Edge, his glowing sword losing itself in the dark void of the cliff, like a fleeting shooting star… A-And that's where we'll end today's session."

We had only been playing for two hours, but no one complained. They were all with their hands on their faces, staring at me with open mouths and incredulous eyes. I had just caused our first character death in our campaign. It was a tough moment for everyone, especially me, but I tried to pretend that it wasn't that big of a deal.

Still, I was pretty bummed out as we all packed our stuff and took my costumes away, while Clyde and I also tried to make sure our basement looked presentable. Zach, Liam, and Rusty came to say goodbye to me, and they apologized for not being able to help me before grabbing their bikes and pedaling back to their homes. Stella came to me after them, and I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was blaming herself for my decision. As if the fun scenario she had carefully thought about had ended up with all of us feeling miserable and with my character dead.

"Hey, don't worry about it," I assured her, trying to smile. "I think it was a super dramatic moment. It was a pretty clever encounter. Besides, I've always wanted to play a Monk, heh. I guess now I'll finally be able to do it."

My attempts at comedy seemed to at least make her smile, but she still asked me not to create a new character yet. To give her a few days to think. She also grabbed her bike and left after saying goodbye.

I was suddenly aware of the fact that the only one left was Jordan, and I'm pretty sure my hands began sweating.

"I should probably get going now," she said, grabbing her bag and putting on a jacket.

"No one's picking you up?" Clyde asked.

"No, my parents are working now. I'll just take the bus."

To be honest, I wasn't totally fond of the idea of her going back to her house alone at night time. If she had a bike, maybe, but an eleven years old girl waiting for the bus by herself? Call me old-fashioned, but I didn't feel comfortable with that.

"I'll go with you," I found myself saying before my brain could fully process my thoughts. She looked at me, and I was suddenly a victim of my insecurities yet again. "I-I mean, to the bus stop. I wasn't implying I wanted to go to your house, no. It's just, you know, it's late… and… well…"

"Lincoln's right," Clyde intervened, probably trying to stop me from looking like a total idiot, "it's not a good idea to wait alone at the bus stop."

Jordan smirked and let out a little laugh, but I also noticed her changing the weight of one leg to the other, and her hands playing with the straps of her bag.

"Are you gentlemen suggesting that you want to come with me to the bus stop to protect me from dangerous stuff?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "And how would you two help me if something happened?"

"Oh, no, I'm not going," Clyde said, raising his hands and taking a step back. "If the basement isn't in perfect condition by the time our dads come from work, they're going to kill us. Metaphorically speaking."

Oh, great, that would leave me alone with Jordan, which only increased my probabilities of acting like a major idiot and ruin it all by, I'd say, tenfold. She stared at me, waiting for an answer to her teasing question. I tried to answer confidently and smartly.

"Well, if anything were to happen, I'm pretty sure I can scream for help louder than you," I said, trying to make fun of her soft voice and how she-

Wait, dang it! That didn't sound brave or smart AT ALL. Had I just make fun of myself? She definitely seemed to think so, because she let out a soft, girly giggle.

"I can't argue with that," she admitted. "So, let's get going."

I took my orange hoodie with black sleeves and a zipper in the middle and put it on over my favorite shirt. We both said goodbye to Clyde, who as soon as she turned around, smiled in my direction and put his two thumbs up.

We got out of my house and we started to walk into the thankfully well-illuminated streets of a residential neighborhood near Royal Wood's midtown. We walked past houses and sidewalks filled with trees, but just after a few blocks we already started to see low buildings, three or four stories tall, and stores on the street level. The bus stop that would take Jordan to her house was only about eight blocks away, which left us with a couple of minutes of walk to get there.

The first few seconds were spent in uncomfortable silence. I mean, it was definitely not uncomfortable for me. This might sound stupid, but just having her walk right next to me was enough to make me happy. It probably wasn't the same for her, though, so I made sure to start a conversation so she wouldn't think that I was boring or bad company.

"So, did you have fun tonight?" I asked.

"I did, actually, it was super fun. I wasn't expecting a room full of giant spiders," she said, her eyes glowing at the memory, although she then looked at me with a mischievous smile. "But obviously you couldn't let an opportunity pass to make some drama, didn't ya?"

I snorted, putting my hands in my hoodie pockets and pretending to be mad.

"You say that as if I had planned to die tonight."

"Oh, come on, Cotton-Top, you're _aaaalways_ looking for a moment in the spotlight. Why else would you try to be the one to explore the bridge? Just so we could all be impressed by your bravery and strength."

My smile hesitated. Was that the way she thought of me? Someone trying to always be the center of attention?

"My armor class is the highest of the group," I explained, trying to justify myself. "And I'm the one that had taken the least damage in the previous battle. If Clyde went there and there was a trap that made damage to him, he could've fallen unconscious. I didn't do it because I wanted to be _the center of attention_."

I might have gone too much on the defensive because her playful smile faded, and her walking became slower by my side. Dang it, I had ruined it once again, hadn't I?

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," she apologized, speaking softer. "I honestly don't know what to say. I wasn't expecting you to… sacrifice yourself like that."

"I definitely didn't think of it when I went in to explore," I admitted, trying to sound more cheerful so she wouldn't feel bad. "But hey, I guess I'll be able to create a new character. I might turn him into a coward, so he never suggests going first."

We both laughed.

"It's a shame, though. I liked your character."

"Same. Honestly, it was hard making that choice."

"Then why did you do it?" She asked, genuinely curious. "We didn't know what might have happened. There might have been a chance for us to save you."

I took a couple of seconds to consider the question, but I didn't really need them to know the answer. I had it all clear the moment I made the decision.

"Because that's what Ace Savvy would have done," I said with a big smile as I looked up at the stars. She softly nodded, smiling as well, and I could see from the corner of the eye how she stared at the red shirt underneath my hoodie, with the black logo of Royal Wood's last protector.

* * *

Oh, right, I should probably explain to you who Ace Savvy is. Alright, let's start from the beginning.

As we all know, at the beginning of the eighties there was a cosmic explosion on Earth's atmosphere, right over North America. No one really knows what caused it, or what it actually was. What we do know is that it released an unprecedented amount of energy that expanded throughout the whole planet. Most people didn't feel it but said energy caused some changes in 0,01% of the world's population. From one day to the next, these people gained abilities of all kinds, unique from each other. Before mankind was able to react, there were superheroes amongst us, or as media called them, "metahumans". Many were converted at the moment of the explosion, but for reasons that science can't yet explain, the rest of mankind was injected with potential metahuman genes, which means that even today, two or even three generations down the line, there's a small, tiny chance of a baby being born with superpowers. These powers usually manifest themselves in the first two years of life.

This obviously had major geopolitical repercussions on a worldwide scale (the end of the Cold War, the stock market crash, the South American and Eastern African countries rising as the new superpowers, and the sudden disappearance of K-Pop as a musical genre), but let's be honest, no one cares about politics, so let's just go back into the good stuff.

Superheroes started to become public figures in their cities. They became symbols of respect and hope, mayors, governors. They opened their own companies, their own TV shows, their brands. But of course, just like some decided to use their powers for good, many others (probably, and unfortunately, the majority) decided to use their powers for… not so good reasons. Supervillains appeared as well. Can you imagine what that meant for cities like New York? One day it was a normal city, the next day over eight thousand metahumans were running or flying around the streets. Most of them with selfish intentions, some of them trying to help reinstate order.

In a small town like Royal Woods, the impact wasn't as big. I think that during the early decades there was a bigger impact. But ever since the 2000's, our city became famous in the Northern United States (the country was divided into four, by the way) because of the… high index of metahuman disappearances. One by one, all our supervillains and superheroes started to disappear. It's our city's greatest mystery. No one knows why, but no metahuman seems to last for more than four or five years on the scene before disappearing in mysterious circumstances for no one else to hear about them ever again. It's why most supervillains only attack our city a couple of times before moving out into other towns or cities, even if they're bigger and hold more heroes. No one wants to take a risk, even though all the superheroes that ever defended us disappeared.

All but one.

Ace Savvy, the Night Vigilante, is practically the last hero we have (not exactly, but let's not get ahead of ourselves). He started his heroic career in the early nineties, and ever since he's been protecting the citizens of our town. He's my hero, my idol, my inspiration. Silver Edge was clearly influenced by him. A brave man, talented, who never hesitates to help others at his own risk, who's always willing to deal out some justice and protect the innocent citizens. Not only that, but he's the only hero that has been able to survive for a little over thirty years on this city that seems to have a curse against metahumans.

I still remember that time when Katherine Mulligan asked him why he keeps defending us, and he said something that has always stuck with me.

"Because I can. And as long as I'm able to do so, that shall be my life's command."

Gosh, I love him! I was once next to him at a barber shop's inauguration. Well, not exactly "right next to him". There were about two hundred people between him, local journalist Katherine Mulligan (she had the most exclusive interviews with him) and me, but if you look at the tapes, there's a moment where you can see my white hair in the background! Ace Savvy and me, both together on the same frame! He's my biggest inspiration, and I'm convinced that if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have Nova and Eclipse either.

They're two young heroines, which is extremely rare here. See, in other places, metahumans start their public life as heroes or villains as soon as they feel ready. Most of them do so during their teen years, although it's not unusual for ten years old (or even younger) metahumans going around the street saving cats from trees or stealing candy. Royal Woods, however? If you use your powers, for good or evil, you're definitely gonna end up sooner or later on the long list of missing metahumans. That's why we don't have any new heroes, and only Ace Savvy remains of the old school. According to statistics, there should be around thirty metahumans in our town, most of them under twenty-five, and yet the only ones we know of are Ace Savvy and, for the past year and a half, Nova and Eclipse.

In a way, I'm glad I wasn't born with superpowers. I can't imagine how awful it must feel to have powers but not being able to use them for fear of being kidnapped, or dying, or whatever happens to metahumans. That's why I'm so glad to have Eclipse, Nova, and obviously Ace Savvy around.

They fear nothing, and they risk their lives just because they believe that's what's right.

* * *

"That's why Silver Edge preferred to die," I told her. "If the zombies and the Grick cornered you against the wall, we could have all died. But he had the option to stop it all before it escalated. Sacrificing himself, taking all the enemies down with him, and making sure that you were all alive to complete the mission and save the Forgotten Realms."

"Wow… now I kinda feel bad for making fun of you," Jordan said, giving me a light punch on the shoulder. "I think I need to start giving you more credit."

"Yeah, well, maybe you don't know me as much as you think."

We got to the bus stop, and we stood under a light post.

"What does that mean, Mr. Mysterious?" She asked.

"It means that maybe there's more about Lincoln McBride than meets the eye."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" She said, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the streetlight.

Her blonde hair shone like the golden fleece under the artificial light, and her eyes looked as pretty and captivating as always. I felt my throat drying, and I had to make an effort to not lose myself staring at her.

"I have lots of skills you don't know."

"I can imagine."

"I mean it. I don't like to brag about it, but I'm a fantastic cook."

Maybe it was my mischievous smile, or maybe she thought I was joking (I wasn't, by the way, I love cooking), but she let out a beautiful giggle that she tried to muffle with her fist.

"Wow, this is embarrassing. I have a male friend that knows how to sew and cook better than me. Mother would be disappointed."

"That's sexist."

"But hey, I guess it must feel worse to you knowing that even though I'm a girl I'm a better athlete than you."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. “That's even _more_ sexist."

"But it's true."

"It is, yeah."

We shared a very cheerful laugh, and right then I felt like the king of the world. I couldn't help to show my disappointed face when we saw the bus turning around the corner. She walked away from the streetlight and fixed her skirt.

"Thanks for coming with me, Lincoln," she said, all teasing gone from her voice, gifting me with a thankful look. "I had an awesome time today."

"No problem. I had a good time, too."

"Now that you told me you like to cook, you're gonna have to make me something one of these days," she added, her head tilting forward, slightly towards the floor, but her eyes fixed on me.

"I, uh…"

What could I say? Should I say no, play hard to get? Make a joke and play along? Wait, was she joking, or was she being serious? Was she actually asking me to cook something for her? To make something for her and bring it to the cafeteria? Should I invite her for lunch at my house? Would she accept the invitation or would she laugh at me?

"...I don't know," I ended up saying, in what was probably the greatest missed opportunity of my life.

I realized right away that she was clearly expecting a different answer. Her smile hesitated, and we stayed in silence until the bus stopped right in front of her.

"See ya later," she said, not as cheerful as she had been a minute ago.

"Goodnight, Jordan."

And just like that, the bus door was closed, leaving me alone in the silent darkness of the night. I cursed myself as I turned around and began walking back home. Everything had gone almost perfectly. I had had ten minutes alone with the girl I liked, and it had been great. And right at the end… just when she was maybe giving me a chance to ask her out on a date, or at least to spend some time alone, my fears and insecurities had taken the best of me. Sometimes I hated being so shy. I saw an empty soda can on the sidewalk and I kicked it as hard as I could, trying to get rid of some of the frustration I was carrying.

When the can hit the floor, it made a thunderous noise that broke the silence of the night, as if a trash can filled with bricks and glass cups had fallen onto a gong. It was so loud that I stood still for a few seconds until I realized that there was no way that a simple can of soda could have caused such a mess. A new explosion happened to my left, and when I looked up, I saw them.

Jumping from roof to roof, running on the top of the buildings, well over the lights and concealed under a blanket of dark and mystery, there was a man dressed as a cowboy, with black, leather boots with spurs, a black jacket over a blue vest, claret gloves, a bandana covering the lower half of his face, and a wide-brimmed hat. And it seemed like he wasn't sure if he was maybe being too subtle because, just in case you didn't get the cowboy outfit, he was also carrying a burlap sack over his shoulder, filled with who-knows-what, and a gun in his hand.

My muscles froze like a hare on the road, and I instinctively walked back against the nearest wall, pressing my back onto it as if I was trying to pass through.

"Wild Card Willy," I whispered to myself.

There were no doubts about it, I was looking at one of Royal Wood's most infamous villains. I refer to him as a villain and not a _super_ villain because he wasn't a metahuman. It's the same difference between heroes and superheroes. Not everyone wearing a costume and going out to help others is super. For a long time, people wondered if the reason why Ace Savvy hadn't gone missing like the rest of the superheroes was that he didn't have superpowers, but his superhuman strength, dexterity, and reflexes didn't seem to support that theory.

And speaking of that…

I saw Wild Card Willy looking over his shoulder and shooting his gun. I was kinda expecting a bullet, but what came out of the barrel was a red, glowing light that reminded me of Stormtroopers' blasters. It flew through the air almost faster than my eyes could catch, but after just forty feet or so, a small, white rectangle with an Ace of Spades in the center intercepted the beam of light, causing a small explosion similar to the two that had scared me senseless a few instants ago.

The moment I recognized that small rectangle, my heart turned into a charging rhino trying to pounce out of my chest. I turned my head to my left and, moving with the determination and the agility of a panther, there he was, Ace Savvy.

Even with the dim light, I could identify his dark red suit, his bracelets, his utility belt, his black mask to conceal his identity, and his waving, dark blue cape. He moved through the rooftops, keeping pace with the villain of the night, ready to deal out some justice and make him pay for his crimes.

Never in my eleven years of life had I had such a clear view of him. That time at the barbershop I had barely seen flashes of his hair or his cape. Now, I had a good look at him, full-body, running under the soft light of the stars with the red spandex like the one my dads use on their designs. I already knew how this was going to end. Ace Savvy had put Wild Card Willy in prison thirteen different times.

Trust me on the data. I'm a mod in Ace's subreddit.

The smart thing would have been to walk back home and tell Clyde what I had just seen, so we could both talk excitedly about our favorite superhero, and maybe, while he was busy with videogames or something, I could go to my secret atelier in the attic to keep working on my ultra-realistic Ace Savvy cosplay, which I was already finishing, looking forward to using it at the next Comic-Con. The smart thing would have been for me to keep that as a memory, treasure it, and move on with my life.

But, as you'll be able to confirm the more you get to know me, smart isn't really an adjective people use to describe me.

Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to see my hero in action, and the possibility to maybe record him on my phone, I ran after the figures on the rooftops. Wild Card was _clearly_ dangerous, but there was no way that he could present an actual threat to Ace. At no moment I considered the possibility of my integrity being risked.

Even though they were adults, and athletics had never been my strong suit, the fact that they were jumping from building to building helped me keep up with their pace. It was also pretty easy to just follow the explosions their chase had been leaving behind. I knew these streets pretty well since it was just a ten-minute walk from my house, so I could find some alleys to take as shortcuts and keep their pace. I would look up from time to time, trying to see my idol, and I did actually get to see fleeting glimpses of his cape and hair.

After about fifty seconds of running behind them, I noticed they were about to reach the corner. They were both great acrobats, but there was no way they'd be able to jump from building to building across the street. Thinking fast, I imagined that they'd make a ninety-degree turn to the left. If I took the first alley to the center of the block, it would be a huge shortcut that would put me probably underneath them as they jumped from place to place.

I trusted my guts, and that's exactly what I did. The alley was dark, with stained, dirty, graffiti-filled brick walls. The heinous stench of some long-forgotten trash bags reached my nostrils, but I decided to ignore it and keep going. I got to the intersection of two alleys, that met each other at a right angle, connecting the two sidewalks.

The good news was that my math had been correct, and I had gotten there just in time to intercept the chase.

The bad news was that the burlap sack fell a few feet in front of me, and after hearing some cursing, I saw Wild Card Willy descending a fire stair, getting right where I was.

My first thought was a word that my dads wouldn't have been proud to hear. My second thought was much more concrete and useful: "Hide". I looked around. I could potentially run back to the alley I came from, but Wild Card was about to reach the floor, and if he turned around and saw me running… the last thing I wanted was to end up being shot by a piddling villain. My eyes focused on a trash container next to me, big enough to cover me completely, and without thinking twice, I jumped there, making myself as little as possible and trying to calm my shaking legs.

Wild Card Willy seemed to be about to reach his bag, but then a figure dexterously fell right in front of my hiding spot, and I was able to see Ace Savvy with a level of detail that I had never imagined.

He seemed even more impressive in person than he did in my posters and photographs. He was pretty tall, standing probably almost 6'3". The spandex held tightly to his muscles, showing proudly from his powerful calves, each one as big as my two legs, to the small muscles underneath his armpits. His broad chest stretched the Ace of Spades logo, all black with a white "A" in the center, and his square jaw ended on a pointy chin.

He was smiling, but he seemed to hesitate for a few seconds when his eyes met mine. Time stopped, and my heart almost did as well. I wished I had my phone ready to take a picture of him, but this was probably not the best time to ask for a selfie.

I don't know what he saw on my face. Probably a mix of absolute terror for being in a situation that I should have definitely considered more thoroughly, and adoration and fascination for being right in front of my idol. It wasn't easy to read his face, but I thought I saw a bit of surprise, confusion, and finally, resolve. The visual contact only lasted for a few instants, and he quickly got up on his feet, looking with a smug smile to where, I assumed, Wild Card was standing.

"Stealing shoe stores again? Come on, Willy, I thought you'd sworn not to steal anymore," Ace said with a grave yet charmful voice, as if he was having a nice chat with a taxi driver on a long trip to the airport.

"I swore that I would only steal to those who deserved it!" Wild Card challenged him. I couldn't see him from where I was. "The owner of this place has five employees in precarious conditions! She won't let them have their paid vacations, and she has them working extra hours on the weekends! She must pay for her insensibility!"

"You do know that she most likely has insurance for this, right? She won't lose any actual money."

"Oooh, but she will have to face bureaucracy!" Wild Card retorted as if he had just Ben Shapiro'd his opponent's arguments. "Imagine her spending six hours trying to make sure that all her papers are updated and in the clear, dealing with slow secretaries from the insurance companies! That'll teach her!"

Ace Savvy let out a soft chuckle, and I almost missed it, but as he kept his eyes focused on the villain, his right hand made a clear gesture for me to stay still where I was. Perfect, I thought. My legs didn't respond to my commands anyway.

"Willy, you know I care about you. If you weren't a chronic thief with a fascination for old western movies, we could probably be friends. But you can't keep this up. You need to stop stealing from evil employers."

"Oh, right, it's bad for me to steal from the bourgeoisie, but they can steal from the defenseless workers and no one bats an eye. Simply because the law they write protects them from facing the consequences of their treacherous acts."

Oddly enough, it was at that moment that I realized Wild Card wasn't as evil as I thought. He was more of a chaotic neutral, I thought.

"Laws are there to keep order and structure, Willy," Ace pointed out, staying lawful good in terms of D&D characters. "But I digress. We both know how this is going to end. Give up, let me handcuff you, and I'll talk to the police so they can reduce your sentence. Or at least give you satellite TV on your cell so you can watch _The Magnificent Seven_ as many times as you want."

"Oh, but this time things are different, Ace," he said, with confidence that puzzled me.

There was a tense silence for a few seconds, but I noticed Ace's eyes squinting. "I’ve noticed. Where did you get that?"

"Ha! As if I was going to say it just like that!" Wild Card laughed. "Let's say I've got a secret sponsor that believes I'm right in my social justice quest. He gave me these two so I could get away with it."

"And what do they do?" Ace cautiously wondered.

"I… well, the red one seems to shoot some sort of concussive plasma," he said, sounding like he wasn't entirely sure about it. "And the green one… I don't know what it does. But the note said that it would be my secret to success!"

There was a tense stare-off between them, and the silence was giving me chills. Couldn't Wild Card just surrender and end this before I wet my pants?

"Willy, I don't know who sent you those weapons, but I don't think they're on your side. Put them away before you do something you'll regret."

"I won't have anything to regret if you just leave me alone!"

"I can't do that," Ace solemnly said. "It is my duty as a hero."

The alley was about fifteen feet wide. From my position I could only see Ace Savvy, and from the way he started to move, it looked to me like they were circling each other, keeping their distance and their eyes focused on each other. Ace was walking away from me, which probably meant Wild Card was getting closer. That made me even more nervous than that time when Rusty convinced me to get into the girls' restroom and write down Liam's number on the mirror. I felt like I was going to be caught any second, and that would be my end.

"Leave the bag here," Ace offered, "drop your weapons and go away. I won't even arrest you. This doesn't have to escalate any further."

"And since when do you let criminals just walk away?"

"I'm not letting you walk away, I'm making a deal with you. Those weapons… I don't like this. Tell me who gave them to you, and in exchange for your collaboration, I'm offering you a chance to enjoy your freedom."

Nowadays, with more experience under my belt, I can see what Ace's plan was. He was trying to engage in a conversation with Wild Card, trying to get him to monologue and stay focused on him, to keep him from scanning his surroundings. He was trying to get them to walk around in a circle so he would end up with his back to me, giving me a chance to stealthily walk away sound and safe.

It was a good plan, but in my terrified, tense state, I didn't get it. The only thing I could see was Ace walking away from me, and I could listen to the villain's steps moving closer. Wild Card wasn't a murderer, he was just a thief, but even then, he was carrying guns, and having him close to me was highly unnerving. I was scared, I panicked. I could feel my heart beating like a drum on my ears, my fingers were shaking, and cold sweat was running down my forehead.

I turned to my left, looking at the alley where I came from. The corner was just about twelve feet away from me. I calculated my distances. If I could get a nice impulse, I might be able to leap forward, roll, push with my heels, and get out of there in just a second. I wouldn't be giving Wild Card any time to react, and worst-case scenario, Ace would react first.

I took a few deep breaths before deciding what to do, and in an act of stupid bravery, I leaped towards the exit.

And the subsequent roll ended up becoming a turning point in Royal Wood's history.

I had overestimated my acrobatic capabilities. My idea to jump forward and roll was taking for granted that I could a) be able to leap parallel to the ground and b) be agile enough to start the rolling motion in the air and continue the momentum on the floor.

I could do neither. My chest hit the solid concrete floor and my head bounced against it, making my chipped tooth closing painfully on my tongue. I immediately felt the metallic flavor of my own blood spilling in my mouth, but it was nothing compared to the immense terror that consumed me in that instant. To say that I felt frozen in place works on more than one level, because not only did I feel my whole body going stiff, leaving me motionless, but a cold sensation spread throughout my whole body as if someone had dropped ice cubes under my shirt.

It all happened so fast that I saw it in slow motion. I don't know how to explain it. It was like information had overloaded my brain, and instead of taking it all in real-time, my organism had to take a couple of seconds to analyze frame by frame the whole sequence that had entered my retina, just to make sure it was real.

The first thing I heard was a loud yell of surprise, and a much graver voice shouting "STOP!". I felt a tingling sensation on my neck, like all the little hairs under my head were charging up with static. In what little time it took me to turn my head behind, I noticed the whole alley lighting up, and when I could finally look over my shoulder, I saw Wild Card Willy's gun pointing at me, and a beam of green light began occupying my whole field of vision.

And at that moment, I remembered.

It was such a strange memory, so remote and distant that for a long time I thought it was just a nightmare. A recurrent nightmare that I used to have as a kid, during those weeks in the group home, and the first few years that I spent with my new family, the McBrides. I had completely forgotten about it, but in that instant, the memory hit me like a brick.

Quick flashes of light, two people running, the sound of my crying, a female scream, and a blinding green light…

Even if my body wouldn't have been frozen in place, the shock produced by that memory had left me paralyzed. I couldn't react. I couldn't move. I couldn't save myself.

And it was my uselessness what caused Ace Savvy to jump. What made him stand between me and the gun. To open his arms wide. To stand there as the green light hit him right in the chest, causing an explosion that flared up and showed his silhouette through the cape.

I could only stare there, and watch in slow motion, as Ace Savvy's body fell to the ground right in front of me.


	2. Girl Talks

"Oh, no… What have I done?!"

The words reverberating on the cold walls of the alley belonged to Wild Card Willy, but during those confusing and heartbreaking moments, I thought they had found a way to escape my mouth. Of course, I should have known that it was impossible, because my throat was currently obstructed, dry, and there was no way any sound could have pierced through it. My eyes had tunnel-vision, and my senses were no longer working correctly. I couldn't smell the trash anymore, I couldn't feel my icy sweat, the alley and the concrete floor looked blurry, and the only thing I could perceive was Ace Savvy's body, face down in front of me.

"No," Wild Card mumbled, although his voice sounded like a distant echo. "No, no, no, no!"

I should've been scared. Wild Card could have shot me, too. Had he done it, that would have been the end of my story. _Hello, my name is Lincoln McBride. One day I was playing Dungeons and Dragons, then I saw a chase, I made Ace Savvy get shot and I died. Cool, right?_ I should have tried to escape or plead for mercy. And yet, the only thing I was able to do was kneel and remain in silence, trying to understand what had just happened.

I felt like my stomach was upside down, like I was about to throw up all the Doritos that I had eaten during our session in the basement. My ears were plugged, and I could listen to my breathing and the beats of my heart as if someone was amplifying them. Wild Card was yelling, but I didn't understand what he was saying. I barely turned my head when I heard an impact, seeing one of his guns on the floor. They were weird, they didn't seem like normal guns. They were made out of a very shiny, almost white metal, with some details in green or red. One of them, the green one, had a bit of smoke coming out of the barrel.

Wild Card ran away. The guns and the burlap sack filled with stolen objects were soon forgotten on the cold floor, leaving me alone with Ace Savvy's body.

Body… or a corpse?

"Ace… ACE!"

I was once again in control of my limbs. I got closer to Ace, and put my hands on one of his shoulders. His muscles were like stones, and when I tried to turn him around, it was like trying to move a refrigerator. My weak, untrained arms had to try hard to do it, but they did, and soon I was able to see his face.

The air that had been trapped inside my lungs escaped with relief when I saw his eyes moving behind his mask.

"You're alive!" I said, feeling a huge weight off of my shoulders.

Unfortunately, that weight settled again, ten times heavier, when I saw the tiniest trail of blood running down the corner of his lips. And also when my eyes lowered to his chest, where a tar-black stain was covering almost all of it, with a big portion of his suit torn up showing his bleeding pectorals.

Ace coughed, and moved his arms ever so slowly, placing one hand over his wounds.

"Are you okay, kid?" He softly asked.

"You're hurt!"

"Are you?" He insisted.

"N-No…"

He sighed and his lips curved in a smile.

"That's good. That's good to know," he coughed again, and his lower lip got covered with more blood. "Willy… Poor Willy…"

"D-Don't worry, I'll call an ambulance," I said, dipping my hand into my pockets to fish out my phone.

I was about to take it out when Ace's free hand softly closed itself on my wrist.

"No need to," he told me, doing a great effort to smile. "The gun he was given isn't like anything he ever used. Whoever they were… they wanted to finish me off."

"And w-we're not gonna let that happen!" I assured him, putting my tiny hands around his bigger, stronger one.

I looked at him intensely and squeezed as hard as I could. He stared at me with his deep green eyes.

"What's your name, kid'"

"I-I'm Lincoln, sir. I'm your biggest fan," I admitted, trying to keep him with me.

"Lincoln. Ok, Lincoln, I need you to pay close attention to me, alright? I have a mission for you."

His voice was starting to sound tired as if pronouncing each word was becoming a struggle. I didn't know what he was talking about, but I leaned closer to him. He could have asked me for anything and I'd do it. _Anything_ for him.

I let him know he had my full attention.

"I need you to take my insignia out of my belt. Grab it and go to the address written on the other side of it. It's a key to my house. Get in there without anyone seeing you, and look for the library on the first floor. You're with me so far?"

I nodded, though honestly, all my thoughts were tangled with each other in the confusing nebula of my head. Ace let out a groan of pain, and for an instant, his face darkened, but he quickly smiled.

"This thing I'm about to ask you is really dangerous, so be very, very careful. There's an emergency kit in a small glass box, near a fire extinguisher. Grab a bottle of alcohol, pour as much as you can on the big carpet in the library… and set it on fire. Don't take any risks. Just light up part of the carpet and then ran away as fast as you can. The carpet is highly flammable. A tiny blaze will be enough to make it all burn. Leave, and make sure no one sees you. Let the house burn to ashes."

"Y-You want me to burn down your house?" I asked, feeling scared, confused, and worried.

"There are some things in there that I can't trust to anyone."

"B-B-But you live there! You're walking out of this one! You always do!"

He squeezed my hands, and even though he didn't say what he was thinking, I could see it in his eyes.

"It's gonna be alright, Lincoln."

"N-No! Ace, you need to stand up!" I pleaded. "We need you! You're… you're our last hero!"

"Cities don't need superheroes, kid. Only everyday people, willing to help others. To watch out for their family and friends. Anyone can be a hero… the only thing they need is to have the hope that things can be better, and the will to do what's right, no matter how dangerous it might be."

Perhaps, in any other context, I would have found his words inspiring. If this was a speech on a school play, I would've stood on my feet to clap and celebrate such a nice message. It was a little complicated though to feel hopeful as I held on to the dying body of my idol, my greatest inspiration in life. His face was getting paler with every second, and his grip on my hands was slowly fading away.

Ace Savvy was dying, and there was nothing that I could do about it. Not only that but… it was all my fault.

I don't know if the tears had already been falling before, but it was right then when I noticed them, slipping down my face and leaving small, wet circles on the floor. I was having trouble breathing. I wanted to wake up from the nightmare I was living, but there was no case, the scenery of the cold, dark alley wouldn't change.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry," I said, closing my eyes and lowering my head.

"Lincoln…" His free hand found a way to one of my shoulders, closing on it like a father ready to talk with his son. "I always knew that I would never get a chance to retire and enjoy the rest of my life in a nursery home. And you know… I always hoped that the day I had to go, it would be saving someone else. I… I find solace in knowing that you'll be okay."

"This is… this is my fault…"

"I hope you don't believe that… and if you do, I-I hope one day you'll grow up to understand this was entirely on me."

"A-Ace…"

The deadly silence of such a tragic night was broken with the incipient sound of police sirens that seemed to grow louder with each passing second.

"Someone must have called because of the gunshots," Ace said, coughing to his lungs' extents. "Lincoln, grab my insignia. There's no time. The police must not see you here."

I looked at him with my tear-filled eyes. Even someone as formidable, wise, and brave as Ace Savvy looked just as vulnerable as any of us would be on death's gates. I rubbed my eyes with the sleeve of my hoodie and moved my hands to his utility belt.

His insignia was embedded in the center. My fingers closed around it and I pulled, but it didn't seem to give in. I had to use both my hands to turn it and try to dislodge it until it finally snapped away. It was a black metal, pretty light, shaped like a spade. It fit perfectly in my hand, and I kept staring at it until the sound of sirens became unbearable.

I spared one last look at my fallen hero. His eyes crossed with mine, and he gave me a weary smile.

"I trust you, Lincoln. Go."

The glasses of the stores on the other sidewalk were now shining in red and blue. I don't know if my fears were justified, but for some reason, I was terrified of the notion of being interrogated by the police. Maybe I was afraid that they would arrest me for being an accomplice to Ace Savvy's murder.

Whatever might have happened, I simply began to run. I ran all the way back to my home, not worrying about how exhausted I was getting. My lungs were struggling to catch my breath, my muscles were ablaze with the lactic acid that surrounded them, and the palm of my hand was closing so tightly on Ace Savvy's insignia that I thought I could cut myself with its edges. The police never saw me, but if they really wanted to find me, they could have simply followed the trail of tears that I left behind me like a depressed Hansel. By the time I got to my house, my body was ready to pass out from exhaustion.

I saw my dad's car parked on the driveway. I opened the front door and ran towards the bathroom. My dads were in the kitchen, and Clyde was in our room. No one saw me as I locked myself in the bathroom, turned on the steam extractor to make some noise, and sat with my back pressed against the door.

All the muscles in my body were aching. My eyes stung with every anguish-filled tear that poured from them. My hero's insignia slipped off my hands to the floor, and I pulled my hair until the pain hurt more than my self-hating. I was anxious, terrified, I felt guilty, dirty. The stench of my sweat bothered me, and almost in autopilot, I removed all the clothes from my body and turned on the shower, letting the lukewarm water splash onto my shoulders and back, as if I could wash away what happened.

I took a twenty minutes shower until the water began to cool and my eyes had no more tears to shed. I dried off the best I could, wrapped a towel around me, left my clothes on the laundry basket and hid Ace Savvy's insignia. To my surprise, Clyde was no longer in our room when I got there. It gave me time to change into new clothes and try to put up a serene, calm face with no one to interrupt me.

I stepped out of my room and went to the living room, trying to think of how I could even talk about this with my parents or Clyde. Could I tell them what had happened? Would it be safe to do so? I couldn't just hide the fact that Ace had… fallen because of me. The truth would get out soon. I needed to be direct.

Luckily for me, I didn't need to confess anything. By the time I got to the living room, my adoptive family was standing in front of the TV, and I got there just in time to listen to the voice of a news reporter.

" _...regional hospital, our trustful and active reporter Katherine Mulligan has some breaking news. Katherine, we're listening._ "

I got closer to have a better look at the TV. After a brief transition, the TV studio turned into a view of our city's hospital in the background. I could see a big number of journalists and reporters, many rushing in with their cars and being stopped by the police as they tried to get inside the building. Katherine Mulligan was there, with her hair tied up in a single ponytail and adorned with a yellow headband that looked perfect with her jacket and skirt, both in the same radiant color, making her stand out like an information muse. Her usually beautiful face was, however, transmuted in a mask of anguish, with her mascara running down her cheeks and her lips struggling to stay motionless.

The graphs below read: ACE SAVVY WAS TRANSFERRED TO ER.

" _This is Katherine Mulligan, reporting live from Royal Wood's Regional Hospital_ ," she said, and her broken voice was all I needed to confirm my worst fears. " _And it's with a lot of pain and despondency that I must inform our loyal viewers that the worst possible news has been confirmed by the medic team. Just a few minutes ago… A-Ace Savvy passed away due to a cardiac arrest product of unconfirmed wounds._ "

My heart missed a beat, and my knees almost gave up to the weight of my body. My parents gasped and my brother let out a scream of horror. Behind me, the window that led to the street was open wide, letting in a chilly night breeze. Along with it, however, came the distant yells of our neighbors. Men, women, and children crying out to the sky, wailing out loud.

Katherine must have been really good at her job, or maybe she was too shocked to continue right away, but she gave a pause long enough for all of us to react before she kept her report going.

" _The cause of death is still unknown, and as far as we could ask, there have been no witnesses. We're hoping to get more information in the following hours… but… but the truth is that right now, those are but anecdotal data. Whatever it is that happened, our only certainty is that we've lost our hero, and this might quite possibly be remembered as Royal Wood's darkest hour. Tomorrow shall be a new day, and it will be our responsibility to move on and get out of this pit that right now may seem bottomless. Tomorrow will be the first day where we must all stand united to start to rebuild and show that our bonds as a community are stronger than the worst of tragedies. Tomorrow the Sun will shine once again. But until then, let’s mourn together on this night. Let's remember and treasure all the moments we spent with Ace Savvy, and even with the immeasurable pain that it's most likely consuming us right now, let's keep a small inkling of hope and happiness because I'm sure that's exactly how Ace Savvy would have liked for us to remember him. This is Katherine Mulligan, saying goodbye to our audience, and wishing you all strength in these tough times_."

The signal went back to the studio, where the anchorman had taken his glasses off and covered his face with a hand as he cried on his desk, tears falling behind the new graph: ACE SAVVY DEAD.

The rest of the night went on without me realizing it. I cried alongside Clyde and my parents. At some point, I assume, we had dinner. I laid down in my bed, Clyde on his, but later we ended up sleeping on the same mattress, looking for some sort of comfort. Even with how tired I was, sleep took a long time to take over my senses. I guess I must have fallen asleep near two in the morning and until I woke up way past dawn, my mind was busy coming up with horrible nightmares. Wild Card Willy laughing at me as I could only watch how he shot Jordan, with Ace Savvy whispering into my ear how this was all my fault. The whole scene was busy with sudden flashes of green light accompanied by a female scream of horror.

It was without a doubt the worst night of my life.

* * *

A million things seemed to happen between me falling asleep and the first hours of the morning when Clyde and I woke up. At some point, Wild Card Willy had presented himself to the police, pleading guilty of Ace Savvy's murder and accepting an immediate sentence. Apparently, the prosecutor hadn't believed him at first.

"No way you killed him, Willy! He's locked you up over a dozen times!"

But he must have presented enough data for the police to accept that, indeed, he was responsible for this tragedy. He was already locked up in a cell, waiting for a judge to define his sentence. No cops showed up at my house asking for me, and my face didn't appear on TV as the responsible for the death of our city's greatest hero, so I assumed that, for now, my participation in this incident was kept a secret. And to be honest… I wasn't sure if I really wanted that to change. I had always been a pretty shy wallflower at school, but as much as I would have loved to be famous and have attention, I didn't want it at the cost of being known as Ace Savvy’s murderer.

The second big announcement that I heard when I woke up and went straight to the kitchen for breakfast was the fact that a public funeral would be happening at the cemetery, and the whole city was invited.

"I want to go," I told my dads, who were sitting right next to me at the breakfast bar.

Oh, right, I don't think I've actually introduced you to my dads. Harold and Howard, the dark-haired and the red-haired respectively. One short and a little chubby, the other one tall and thin. Both of them worked as fashion designers, confecting dresses, suits, and all sorts of clothing for some of the most important business people and celebrities in Royal Woods. They taught me everything I know about sewing and design. That's how I was able to do my cosplays and all my friend's costumes for Dungeons and Dragons.

They both heard my request, and after sharing a look, Harold was the first one to talk. "Lincoln… we know how much Ace Savvy meant to you…"

"And you, Clyde," my other dad said, looking sadly at my brother.

"...but we're not sure going to a funeral might be healthy for you."

"Funerals are sad, and that's no place for kids your age."

"Dad!" Clyde complained, standing next to me. "It's Ace! We have to be there!"

"Everyone's going to be there!" I added. "He deserves our goodbyes!"

My brother and I put on our saddest faces, and for the first time in our years of trying to manipulate our parents, we didn't need to pretend. Our emotions were real, and the idea of missing out on the funeral of the person I had gotten killed was terrifying for me.

They couldn't say no. A couple of hours later, after lunch and when the Sun had reached its highest point in the sky, they asked us to wear black clothes. No one on the TV had said anything about a dressing code, but in movies everyone always wore black, so I didn't find that strange at all. I just put on a simple black polo shirt and black jeans. Clyde did the same, and more than ever, we truly looked like brothers.

We got into the SUV and after some silent twenty minutes, we got to the outsides of the cemetery. I had never been inside it, but the place soon gave me chills. There were big walls of concrete, with huge fence gates that stood up like rows of tall, menacing spears aiming at the sky. A part of me was slightly scared. Why closing so fiercely a place of eternal rest? Were they afraid of zombies rising and invading the city?

Oh boy, was that an actual possibility?

My fears were soon forgotten however when I noticed the immense amount of people pilgrimaging into the cemetery. An ocean of people. Most of them dressed in all black, although there was a significant number of people that seemed to have never seen any movie with a funeral in it, as they were wearing colorful clothes.

My family and I got inside, and I must admit that, once we passed the grim outside threshold, the interior was completely different. It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful and wonderful park that I had ever seen. Giant areas of green grass extended in all directions, filled with trees and flower beds of all types and colors. I almost wanted to take a frisbee and play with Clyde, but then I began to notice the immense number of tombstones that seemed to sprout from the earth, like little monoliths of neat, magnificent marble. I also realized how beautiful and sunny it was, and how much it bothered me. Didn't the weather understand that we were all mourning?

It was impossible to get lost. We just had to follow the crowd that led the way in a sacred procession. By the time we reached the edge of the crowd, we couldn't see the grave. I asked my parents what they saw, and Howard replied that there was a small raised stage, with important people like the mayor and other local politicians, all waiting in seats. There were microphones and speakers.

When the arranged time came, the mayor got closer to the microphone and began to talk. I’ll be honest; I won't repeat to you everything he said because it makes me angry how he spent most of his speech talking about his friendship with Ace and how during his time as mayor _he_ had personally helped our fallen hero sooooo much.

I will skip to the only part of his speech that actually affected me.

" _Ace Savvy believed that the possibility of doing good was the great superpower that all of us, metahumans or not, carry within us. That our actions and wills are what define us, more than our capabilities. He believed that even the most average of us could make a difference when the time came to make a decision and that if we chose with wisdom and kindness, the results would always be good_."

If our actions define us, then I was quite possibly the worst scum to ever plant its feet on the Earth. I would have a saved spot in hell, right next to Adolf Hitler and Roman Reigns. My actions had caused Ace Savvy's death. At that moment, I was fully aware of the fact that the whole city was there because of me. An _entire city_ was mourning a true hero because of my stupidity. Because I wanted to see a crime, because I tried to escape instead of trusting my hero... I had ruined it for everyone else.

I felt sick like I wanted to throw up. I excused myself to my parents, and when they and Clyde suggested to go with me or go home, I told them no, that I just needed a little bit of air. I wasn't lying, by the way. I really felt like I was running out of oxygen. And being surrounded by a crowd on a sunny day was making me feel on the edge of a heat stroke. Besides, the body odor was starting to really affect me.

I walked away from the crowd, walking on the green grass, looking for a place to stop by. Everything around me seemed to be filled with tombs, and I must admit, I was slightly anxious at the idea of accidentally stepping onto the ground underneath which a skeleton might be resting. I looked over my shoulder, and the congregation of people looked like a relatively homogeneous mass of sadness.

All because of me.

Maybe I shouldn't have hidden behind a dumpster. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to escape. Maybe Wild Card wouldn't have taken a shot at me. Or maybe he would have, and I would have died right there on the alley. Wouldn't that have been better for everyone? Wouldn't it have been objectively better for me to die and Ace Savvy to live? I was convinced that if this was my funeral, there wouldn't have been more than twenty people sad because of my death.

I closed my fists until my nails almost slashed the palm of my hand. The tears were once again running free from my eyes. If only I had been smarter. If only I hadn't been so curious… if only it had been me instead of him…

"You were there, weren't you?"

The voice startled me. For a small instant, I thought it was Jordan, although it didn't really sound like her. I turned around trying to see who it was, but there was no one to be seen. Not immediately, at least. I seemed to be alone, with no one around me, but then I noticed something on the ground. A shadow. I looked up and I had to do a double-take.

A girl was floating in the air, descending slowly in my direction. Her hands were slightly extended to her sides as if she was keeping her balance on a tightrope. Her long, blonde hair seemed to be the only thing tied to gravity, and even then some locks curled up in the air like they were alive. She was wearing some long, green boots, a white suit that covered most of her body from the shoulders down, with some details on the same greenish-turquoise on her forearms and making a shape sort of like a one-piece swimsuit. Her mask was pretty similar to Ace Savvy's, although this was also green. At her waist, she had some sort of golden belt with a pink stone in the center of it. And on her chest, there was the symbol of a crescent moon.

I took a step back, and my eyes opened so wide I was afraid of hurting them.

"Eclipse," I said out loud, feeling suddenly idiotic. Of course, that was Eclipse, what other green-wearing superheroes with the ability to move things with her mind did we have in Royal Woods?

She descended until she stood a few feet away from me. Of course, I had seen her and her partner Nova on television, or the homemade videos people uploaded to the internet whenever they managed to record them fighting crime, but this was the first time I could actually _see_ her, and take a look at her. I was surprised by how young she was. I knew she was probably a teenager, but she seemed to be only a few years older than me. She truly looked like a kid, and it was hard for me to imagine this girl fighting robbers and dodging bullets like it was no big deal.

"Yeah, that's me," she said to me with a smile, stepping closer and extending her hand to me. "And what's your name?"

Wow. A superhero was trying to shake my hands. Stupefied and not knowing how to respond, I simply shook the hand she was offering me. Her skin was soft, warm, comforting. I hoped mine wasn't sweating.

"Lincoln. M-My name's Lincoln."

I was suddenly aware of the fact that this was the second time in less than twenty-four hours in which I told a superhero my real name.

Eclipse's kind smile hesitated.

"Oh… so you _were_ there when Ace died," she said, sounding strangely worried.

Those words took me right out of the fandom moment I was in. It's like when you're doing a lot of noise on the backseat of the car with your brother and your dads decide to hit the breaks a bit so inertia makes you hit your face with the front seats. A little reminder of reality to take you out of your fun and keep you on the edge.

That's _exactly_ how I felt. A hero had just said, confidently I might add, just as if she knew the truth, that I'd been there when Ace died. How did she know that? Had she spotted me as I ran away? Was she looking for me to interrogate me or put me behind the bars?

Her face changed again, this time looking embarrassed and, perhaps, a bit worried.

"Oh, no, no," she said, raising her hands and waving them dismissively on the air, "don't be scared, you're not in trouble. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

How did she know that? I didn't say anything. I just…

"Hang on a second… can you read my mind?" I asked out loud. Another moment of stupidity from Lincoln McBride. I could've just thought about it really loud to know my answer.

"That's not how it works," she said, visibly more relaxed, standing straight with her hands behind her waist. "It's not like I can read your thoughts or anything like that."

"Then how…?"

She smiled kindly at me. "Besides telekinesis, my powers let me feel what others feel. I can perceive their confusion, their anger, their fear… their sadness," she completed, looking at the ground beneath.

She looked somber. And I soon understood why.

"You were getting away from the crowd," I ventured. "You could feel all those people's feelings and… you were overwhelmed."

I could see in her genuine smile that I had hit the nail. "Wow! Are you a detective, or do you also have a superpower of para-empathic connections?"

It sounded like a joke… but I had the distinct feeling that she was being serious about it. "Neither."

"Hmm. Then you're really smart! But yeah, that's what happened. It was starting to really get to me, so I decided to get a bit away from it. But then I was around here and I… sensed a very different emotion. Guilt. Regret. And that's when I found you. I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry. I just wanted to t-"

"Eclipse!"

A blinding light fell towards us from the sky, as if a shooting star had been driving by Royal Woods and had decided to crash right into my face. Considering my recent luck, it was entirely possible.

But it wasn't a star; it was a _superstar_. A girl, pretty close to Eclipse in age, flying through the air with blue energy surrounding her and moving uncontrollably like fire. She landed at high speed, with her knee and fist connecting the ground in a heroic pose that made me feel like I was in the presence of an 18th level Paladin. She was wearing a suit similar to Eclipse's, but the color accents were different shades of blue rather than green. Her torso had a light blue that later met with some sort of dark blue triangle that fell from her shoulders to the middle of her chest. She was wearing gloves and boots with angular edges, and a mask that only showed her eyes and the space between her nose and her chin. In the center of her chest, there was a symbol with a very angular line, like a V.

Nova. I was right in front of Nova and Eclipse, the superhero duo. The two only new heroes that had decided to step up against crime in Royal Woods regardless of our city's reputation. And, ever since last night, the last two glimmers of hope in this damned town.

"Where were you?" She asked Eclipse, sounding slightly annoyed. "I've been searching for you literally everywhere."

"Oh, sorry Nova. I just met this kid," she told her, pointing a finger at me. "His name is Lincoln. Lincoln, this is my sister, Nova."

So they were sisters! Speculations had always been thrown around, but now I had it confirmed. Nova also realized this.

"Eclipse! You know you can't just give away our secret identities! That's our number one rule!"

"But I didn't say anything."

"Ugh… forget it. We'll discuss this later," she said, before shifting her unamused eyes towards me. "Nice to meet you, Lincoln. Do you want an autograph or something?"

Did you ever present homework that you know was wrong, and the teacher smiles while she explains your mistakes, and it looks like she's being kind but you feel that deep inside she's thinking "I can't believe this idiot will be voting in a few years"? That's kinda how I felt when Nova talked to me. And yeah, I would have actually liked asking for a picture with them. Clyde had a crush on Nova, he would go crazy if I showed it to him. But now that she had put it that way… I didn't want to anymore.

"He didn't call me or anything," Eclipse explained. "I just sensed him feeling guilty."

Nova's mask didn't show her eyebrows, but with the way she tilted her head, I intuited she was raising one. "Guilty?"

"He was there when Ace died. He feels like it was his fault."

Nova's body language had a radical change. Her shoulders relaxed, her fists were no longer squeezed tight, and with the way her back curved, I realized she was forcing a straight pose in front of me. I hadn't noticed it at first, but I quickly realized that most of the respect that Nova imposed was the result of an act.

Interesting.

She sighed, and with much kinder eyes, she knelt before me.

"Listen, kid. This job… Whoever puts one of these suits to go out every day and every night to fight for justice and order knows of the possible consequences. Especially in this town. Being a superhero means that we're always putting ourselves at risk, and anyone that wants to be one needs to understand it. Ace did. Better than anyone else, probably. I don't know what happened last night, but _trust_ me when I say that none of it was your fault. That's just the life of a hero. Don't beat yourself up."

Ace Savvy tried to tell me the same thing. That it wasn't my fault, that everything was alright, that it had only been a terrible accident. But isn't that what a hero was _supposed_ to tell a dumb, lost kid like me? Of course, they would try to make me feel better and tell me not to worry. That's just how good heroes are. And that's precisely why I was having trouble believing them.

My emotions were pretty clear about it.

"I know it's hard to believe it now, so soon after something horrible happened," Eclipse tenderly said, understanding me better than anyone thanks to her powers, "but we really mean it. You couldn't have saved him. You're just a kid, Lincoln."

They didn't know. They thought I felt guilty because I couldn't save him. That was true, obviously, but it was only part of the truth. What affected me the most was knowing that I had been the direct cause of him getting shot in the chest.

They were right. I was just a kid. A dumb kid, not knowing what he was doing.

"I guess," I told them, not too excited. Not even being in the presence of superheroes managed to cheer me up.

They looked at each other, and Nova stood up.

"Alright. We need to go to patrol the city. Criminal scum will be eager to strike now that… Anyway. See ya around, kid."

Without further ado, Nova's body was surrounded by energy, like a blue fire. Her eyes were shining with a blue radiance, and a soft breeze began to whirl near her. I wasn't sure what the source of her power was, but there was no question about her being one of the most powerful heroes that had ever protected Royal Woods. She could fly at high speeds, shoot energy beams, and somehow she also had super strength that let her fly through walls or lift cars with her own hands. Levitating in front of me, with the wind moving her voluminous hair and the blue flames around her, she looked like a human storm.

Within an instant, she accelerated like a rocket towards the sky, losing herself in the firmament. Eclipse also lifted herself in the air. Before leaving, she turned to look at me. Her sad face told me that she knew exactly how I was feeling. She extended a hand towards me, and suddenly the collar of my polo fixed itself. She gave me one last, sad smile, and she flew to join her sister.

I was left alone once again in the cemetery full of people. Eventually, I went back to my family. By then, the tears were dry, and I had already made up my mind.

* * *

When we were halfway towards home, I asked my dads if they could stop the car for a second. They parked in the first empty spot they found.

"What's wrong, son? Are you feeling alright?"

"Are you dizzy? I have some pills that can help you with that."

"If you feel like you want to vomit, I have some paper bags and chewing gum to help with your breath later."

"We should go straight to the hospital and get you checked!"

"Yes! I'll call Doctor López's friend. What was the name of that sarcastic doctor with the cane?"

"Dads," I interrupted them, smiling and raising the palm of my hands, "it's ok, I'm good."

They both let out a relieved sigh. "What's the matter, then?" Howard asked me, wiping the sweat out of his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Well, I…" I looked at the window on the sly. "I'd like to drop off here and walk for a bit."

Clyde, sitting by my side, turned to face me. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I am. I just want to… clear my mind for a bit."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

I smiled at him, fidgeting with my fingers. "Seriously, I'm ok. I just need some time alone. Time to… think I guess."

Clyde stared at me, and I noticed in his pursed lips and burrowed frown that he _knew_ I wasn't alright. I shouldn't be surprised that he could read me like an open book. He was my best friend, my brother, he knew me better than anyone else. Better than myself, if my crush on Jordan was any proof. To try to deceive him or keep a secret from him was a lost battle. I was a very bad liar, and he was very perceptive.

Our familiarity with each other was a double-edged blade, though, and just like he knew me, I knew him. And in his eyes augmented by the glasses, I could see the signs of worry. It would be hard to get some time away from him to do what I needed to do.

Of course, I had underestimated just how good of a brother Clyde was.

He looked at our parents and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I think he needs some time to himself," he softly said. "Doctor López said that sometimes it's important for us to have some me-time to reflect on everything we're going through."

Clyde's appeal to authority was brilliant. My dads exchanged a look. "If Doctor López says so…"

"Yes. Yes, alright. That's ok, Lincoln, you can walk from here."

"But don't take any dangerous street!"

"Watch where you're walking!"

"Don't even THINK about having your phone in silence!"

"If a stranger offers you candy in their white van, tell them that he can shove them up to his-!"

"Howard! Dial it down!"

"What? I was going to say his glove compartment."

While our dads had a conversation about my safety and what expressions were or were not PG-11, I took some quiet moments to thank Clyde.

"And listen, I'm sorry if-"

"It's ok, Lincoln," he interrupted me with a smile. "Do whatever you need to do. You know that if you need me, I'll be here for you."

"You're the best, you know that, right?"

"No u."

After a quick farewell, I got out of the car, which soon resumed its way towards home. I sighed. Suddenly, the collar of my polo felt really, really tight, almost like it was choking me, so I took one button off. The feeling was still there.

I walked slowly until I got to the corner of the street where they had left me. As I did so, I took some sly glances around me. No one there to see me.

That's how I got to my destination, near the 1900th. I was on the even side of the street, so I got to the other side. I kept walking until I got where I needed to be. Just to be safe, I took a new glance around me, and when I couldn't see anyone else, I quickly put my hand in my pocket and fished out the object I had been carrying all morning.

Ace Savvy's insignia. My fingers were shaking as I turned it around and read the words.

"Wayne Avenue, 1939."

There I was. Large, stylized black railings separated the sidewalk from the front garden of what was undoubtedly the most impressive house in the neighborhood. An old house, which looked more like a castle. There was a curved staircase that crossed the garden, surrounding exotic and very well-kept flowers and shrubs. The building had a covered porch flanked by bow-windows. The house was made of gray and carved stone, three stories high, and endless ceilings at rare angles that crossed each other. It was also full of windows and balconies, and while trying to analyze it, I wondered if it was really necessary to have such a large house.

That questioning led me to think of Ace Savvy. If he wanted me to burn his house, I could only think that he lived alone. Would he have a family? No one knew his secret identity, of course, and he had never mentioned a child or a wife. What about his parents? Did they know that their son was dead? Would they still be alive? He must have had some kind of ties with someone. And because of me, those people, whoever they were, had just suffered a great loss.

I shouldn't have stayed so long there in front of the house, looking sadly and with drooping eyes at what I should soon turn into ruins. I should have entered as soon as possible, quietly. I didn't, however, and I was so distracted that I didn't hear someone approaching me.

"Wow… I thought I was the only one that knew his identity," said a familiar voice.

I turned around and, indeed, that voice belonged to none other than Katherine Mulligan. She was standing a few feet away from me, wearing some similar clothes to what she usually used on the news, except that they were black instead of yellow. Her face looked as depressed and heartrending as one would expect.

"Where did you know him from?" She asked me, reducing the distance between us.

Uh oh. Time to lie!

"I don't know what you're talking about, ma'am."

Her sad face frowned. "Don't call me ma'am, I'm not that old. And I have a lot of practice interviewing people trying to hide the truth from me, little one. You can't lie to Katherine Mulligan."

Even if she spoke in the third person, Katherine Mul- I mean, _she_ was right. Huh. Her name _was_ catchy.

"I, uh…"

 **Katherine Mulligan** smiled at me.

"That tells me all I need to know," she said, closing her eyes and nodding slowly. "I see you're trying to protect Ace Savvy's secret identity. Don't worry, I've kept his secret for years. Actually, Spade always told me I was the only one that knew about it."

Spade… Was that his name? I took a quick glance at the mailbox. "S. Nifty", it read. Apparently, I had become the second person to know Ace Savvy's secret identity. Katherine Mulligan being the first.

"I… didn't know him that well," I admitted. "He saved me once."

"Only once? That's probably why he liked you. He must have been tired of saving me all the time."

I had read somewhere about humor as a coping mechanism for pain and grief. Her joke became rather sad, knowing that.

"I'm sorry," she said after a few moments of silence. "I didn't mean to bother you. It's just… it's a little comforting knowing that someone else knew the man behind the mask. Everyone is mourning the hero, but… I thought I would be the only one mourning Spade."

The way she talked about him… how she rubbed the back of her hand… I didn't like lying or assuming much, but I felt like she needed it.

"I'm sure he loved you, too," I said, trying to sound confident like I actually knew what I was talking about.

She seemed taken aback by my words, and it took her a second to react.

"We had our little thing going on back in the days," she admitted, looking at the house, "but his sense of duty and justice took too much out of his life to leave room for romance. I don't blame him, of course. The hero path is a lonely one, after all."

I didn't know what to say to a local celebrity that had just confessed to me that she had been madly in love with the city's most famous superhero, who had died the night before. Because of me, by the way. Luckily for me, she seemed to realize how much she was sharing with a kid she barely knew. She blushed and looked away from me, visibly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I… I guess I needed to share this with someone that knew him, too."

"It's ok, don't worry. But I told you, it's not like we were friends or anything like that."

"But he trusted his secret identity to you."

"...yeah."

"That means he saw something in you. He knew you were special, in a way that I'm not even gonna try to interpret."

"I think you're giving me too much credit."

"Perhaps. I don't know. I just know that Spade was a very smart man, and he could see the beauty in others. Even, and especially, when they can't see them in themselves."

Her eyes moved back to the mansion, and I was starting to believe that she wasn't talking to me precisely.

An idea crossed my mind. What if I gave the key to her? She was an adult. She knew him personally. She was, definitely, the best candidate. I could tell her that Ace Savvy had given me the key to his house a while back (which was technically true) with the instructions to burn it in case he died (which he hadn't exactly said, but it was implied). Whether she decided to move forward with Ace Savvy's last will or not was her responsibility. I wouldn't have to get more involved in this case.

And yet… Ace had asked _me_ to do it. He had delivered this mission to me. And yeah, yeah, I know, he asked me because I was the only one around in that alley. But even so, it was a mission that my hero had given to me. It was my responsibility.

"Anyway," Katherine Mulligan said, bringing me back to reality. "I'm sorry for interrupting you. I just… wanted to see the house one last time and… think, I guess."

"Yeah… yeah, me too."

"It was a pleasure meeting you. You're very kind," she said, smiling at me. "What's your name?"

Ok, was I really gonna give my name to yet _another_ very famous, highly influential person? My parents always told me not to talk to strangers, and yet three superheroes had learned my name in the last twenty-four hours, and now a journalist was asking for it once again. No sir, I would not make another misstep.

"Rusty," I said.

She laughed.

"I met a Rusty, one time. He went to my office trying to convince me that he had a superpower to eat flowers and absorb his vital energy to live forever. Poor kid. He doesn't know that his acne is an allergic reaction to eating plants."

As I tried to contain my desire to roll on the floor and crying out loud in laughter, I decided that I would treasure that information for the rest of my life.

"Anywho. This is Katherine Mulligan, saying goodbye and wishing you the best of luck in the tough times we're living. And don't miss my reports every day from nine to ten, thirteen to fourteen, seventeen to eighteen, and twenty-one to twenty-two, eastern standard time. Goodbye, Rusty."

I said goodbye to her and pretended to be focusing on the house in front of me once again. The truth is that I just waited for her to walk away, and sneakily looked around until I was absolutely convinced that there was no one around.

Once I was sure I was alone, I took Ace's insignia once again. Purposefulness ran through my veins like liquid fire. "I won't fail you, Ace."

I pressed the center of the insignia, and after a metal "click!", the gates were opened.


	3. Puberty is weird

I walked into the garden, closing the fences behind me, and I ran all the way to the entry. The longer I spent out there in the open, the more I risked being seen by anyone. My talk with Katherine Mulligan had left me slightly anxious, but now that I was getting closer and closer to this sort of mansion to get inside and set it ablaze, my worries and nerves weighted down on my back like a bag full of lead. I moved swiftly and trying to muffle my steps on the stone floor. I didn't know if that would help me at all, but I felt like doing this mission in Stealth Mode. Or, well, as stealthy as an arson could be. I wouldn't know, I had never done it before.

I quickly reached the main door, and that's where the first obstacle came up.

"Dang it. How am I supposed to open it?"

I tried to luck my way into it and just push. It might have been open. Nope, no such luck. I stopped to think for a few seconds. I grabbed the doorknob again, and this time I pulled. No movement at all. That would've been awesome.

Alright, Ace Savvy wouldn't have sent me to his house if there wasn't any way in, right? I checked the insignia he had given me. It didn't look even remotely close to a key. Just in case, I tried it, but there was no use.

What if he had forgotten to think of a way to let me into his home? He was dying, and he probably didn't carry a spare key in his utility belt. How could I get inside?

Well… I could break a window. He wanted me to burn his house down, a broken window would have been the least of his worries. I began to study the surroundings looking for the most vulnerable window for me to break, until my eyes landed on a circular flower pot beneath a window that led, presumably, to the entry hall. Yellow flowers, very pretty and well taken care of, decorated it. What didn't seem to be as taken care of was the wooden floor underneath it, with some scratching marks around it. Kinda as if the pot was moved around quite often…

"Seriously, Ace?" I said out loud, baffled by this possibility.

I crouched and, indeed, after I dragged the pot away I found a metal key lying underneath it. Superhero or not, he was still a human, apparently. I placed the key in the lock, and after two quick turns, the big door opened wide. I got inside as fast as I could so no one could see me, but once inside, I had to stop and let out an astonished "Woah".

My dads made a lot of money with their job. Some of their clients were very demanding and very high class, so their designer works had substantial fees. I don't mean to brag or come off as conceited or anything, but I can pretty easily say that yeah, we lived in a comfortable economic position. This house, however, was beyond any possible economic aspiration that my family could ever have. Polished wood floors, walls covered with elegant tapestries, decorative paintings that seemed to be taken right out of the Renaissance or the Italian Baroque. I wouldn't have been surprised if the moment I walked into the room a record-player from the last century would have started playing classical music next to a fireplace.

Next to the door, there was some varnished wooden furniture, probably to leave the groceries or where Ace kept handy stuff. To the right, a small door that seemed to hide a bathroom. Right ahead, however, the house opened itself to a huge room with a cathedral ceiling, surrounded by stairs that led to the first floor and with ample picture windows in almost all directions. I don't mean to sound like I'm exaggerating, but I think pretty much any "normal" house could have fitted in that immense room, that seemed to be divided in two not by walls, but by the change in furniture. There were some big couches and sofas that formed a comfortable living room, with a fitment with an amazing TV and a console (who would have thought that Ace Savvy was a gamer?). And on the other side, a divan rested next to a fireplace, with the three walls surrounding it covered by book-filled shelves.

"The library," I recognized. Indeed, that whole section's floor was covered with a giant carpet.

I got closer to inspect it, and I couldn't even begin to comprehend how expensive such an extensive fabric would be. It had a red wine color to it, with intricate geometric designs in gold. I stepped on it, and I was surprised by how fluffy it was. This would definitely lit up without much effort.

Thinking about my mission saddened me. I glanced at everything around me. Hundreds of books! Personal items. Memories. Did he really want me to set it all on fire? Burning everything down to ashes? I was kinda bummed out. Well, not kinda. Very.

I noticed that there were some pictures and photographs on the fireplace. Feeling nosy, I went over to take a look at them. The first thing that caught my attention was a large picture that framed some kind of diploma.

"NIFTY SPADE - DOCTORATE IN ARCHEOLOGY".

An archaeologist. It was certainly not the profession I would have expected from a vigilante, but it sort of explained why he always spoke with so much class and eloquence in his interviews and public events. A doctorate would surely require a certain level of knowledge and having a way with words, right? The other things on the fireplace were some pictures of Ace Savvy, all of them without his mask and casual clothes at different excavation sites. In every single one, he was captured holding diverse ancient objects, such as adobe vessels and stone arrowheads.

Seeing my hero in such casual situations was... bizarre, so to speak. It was incredible to think that the most important hero in the history of our city had a parallel life away from crime and justice, in something as devoid of action as archeology, of all things. Katherine Mulligan was right; it was sad to think that very few people would ever get to know about this facet of our hero.

I shook my head, pushing those thoughts away. I had to focus. I couldn't afford distractions like these. I looked around, quickly locating the fire extinguisher and the glass box. I went over and took the bottle of alcohol inside. I just had to pour it on the carpet and light it with a small flame. It would soon extend to the bookshelves full of books and wooden walls and floors. Such a shame, I thought. All those books being burned...

I approached the nearest bookshelf. They looked like multi-volumed collections, with long rows of books with the same flat and frankly boring design. If I had to guess, I would say they were psychology or law related.

I tried to take out one of the books to see if it had a cover, but the book wouldn't move.

"Huh?"

I tried the one right next to it. Not the slightest movement. It was as if they were attached to the shelves. I kept trying to move the books, but oddly enough, all of them were as fixed on their place as statues. It was as if a high-level hero had sealed them with Immovable Rods, rare objects that allowed-

Oh, right, sorry. I just really like DnD.

I was starting to conclude that they were all a mere decoration to impress his guests, but I soon found out the functionality of the facade. I tried to grab a large, red book from the third shelf, and unlike the others, it pivoted forty-five degrees before stopping and making a metallic noise.

Right away, the whole room started to shake. I let out a very high-pitched and not-so-manly squeal as I stumbled back and fell on my  _ gluteus maximus _ . I had to blink to start making sense of the spectacle that my eyes witnessed. Plaques of the floor began to sink and move around, the carpet suddenly replaced by a smooth, metal surface. The bookshelves disappeared through holes in the walls and floor. The rest of the wooden walls began to fold themselves in a very complex game of architectural origami.

My eyes didn't know where to focus with all the rapid transformations that the room went through. In just a matter of seconds, the living room/library had disappeared along with one of the walls, leaving in view a much wider room, with pedestals, metal tables, giant computers like I had never seen, and a collection of artifacts that not even the best museums in the world had in their vaults.

I'm usually quite slow to understand some things, but I recognized immediately what had just happened.

"The secret lair!" I said, standing up with a leap. Well, not a leap, 'cause that would imply skill and dexterity. It was more like I rolled forward until my knees collided with the ground and I could get up.

I couldn't believe I had just discovered the secret access to Ace Savvy's lair. All theories pointed to a cave in the Evergreen Forest, on the outskirts of the city. That might explain the legends about an enchanted place that nobody could ever even get close to. But now I knew that none of those theories were true. He had put his secret lair in his own house! Risky, but evidently effective.

Feeling like a little boy in Disneyland, I began inspecting all these new items that were now available to me. I didn't focus on the big keyboards and consoles full of colored buttons because, honestly, technology was never my thing. Nor did I analyze a gigantic map of the city that occupied the entire surface of an elongated and thin metal table. There was also a bookcase full of black folders with labels on the backs.

Those folders probably contained political secrets, organized crime networks, juicy data, and intelligence that Ace Savvy had collected over the decades. An intelligent person would have gone there first, trying to get forbidden and obscure information that no one else in the city had.

I, on the other hand, went straight to the pointy thingies.

"The Aces!" I shouted, staring with admiration at a showcase on which dozens of what appeared to be decks of cards with the Ace Savvy badge were placed.

After so many games of Dungeons and Dragons, my first instinct should have been to check for traps, but I was a Paladin, not a Rogue, so I impulsively took the first deck I managed to get my hands on. It was heavy! It had a little buckle, so I placed it on my belt. I felt like the King of the World. I could see dozens of small sheets of steel inside the lid-less deck. I tried to take one out, but they were pressed too tightly together. Remembering the key with which I had managed to enter the house, it occurred to me to press the spades symbol in front of the deck. Right after I did it, the first card shot out like a spring to my palm. I let out a rather silly laugh. I pressed the symbol again, and a second card jumped into my hand. I took these two and examined them. The edges weren't sharp, but Ace could use them as small projectiles that he threw with his own hands. Have you ever watched videos of people throwing cards, nailing them into fruits, and other solid objects? Imagine what a superhero could do with cards that were really small sheets of relatively light steel.

Just to try it out, I turned on my heels and quickly and threw the two cards through the air. They flew in the same way that a helicopter piloted by a drunk baboon would have. They fell on the ground just a few steps away from me.

"Ok, so card throwing isn't my thing," I shamelessly admitted. I didn't care that I didn't know how to throw them, just having them in my hands had been the best experience of my life!

I left the deck next to the rest, but not before noticing that not all the decks were black and white. Some had red edges, others blue, others green. Explosive, electric, and smoke cards. The complete arsenal of Ace Savvy. I wasn't brave enough to grab those.

I continued to walk around the room, and I'm almost certain that a bit of drool fell from my mouth when I understood what that whole collection of pedestals with strange objects on them actually was.

"A trophy room!"

I ran to the first pedestal, on which rested what for any ignorant would have been a simple and plain bathroom plunger. But for educated men of culture in the history of the Royal Woods rogue gallery, that banal plunger was nothing but the main melee weapon of the Toiletnator, a villain with a fascination for bathrooms.

A little beyond, some sort of samurai helmet, a purple cape, and what seemed to be metal claws. Overall, it seemed like a pretty heavy-metal, feudal japan war suit, with the identifiable feature of some crossed-out cheese symbols on each item. I recognized the villain that these objects had belonged to.

"The Cheese Shredder", I whispered, remembering the stories of that vile villain that wasn't a metahuman, but simply a martial arts expert with a big loathe for teenagers, metahumans (mutants, he called them), ninjas, turtles, and dairy products.

For long, several minutes, I continued to look around all the trophies and memorabilia that Ace Savvy had collected from his battles. With every new villain that I recognized, one part of my heart got more excited while another part got number. I was glad to see so many moments and stories that I had studied and read during my fan years, but I was also depressed to think that no new memories would ever be added to this museum. The apotheosis of these feelings was when I reached the end of the room, where a large display case illuminated a naked mannequin. It was there where he kept his suit. He had taken it the night before, but it would never be returned to its resting place.

I remembered my mission. I wasn't there to enjoy a show or go sightseeing. I had been charged with the task of setting fire to that place and leaving nothing but ashes. All memories, all devices, all computers, everything would end up destroyed and lost forever in the unread pages of history.

I assumed that the more I stayed there, the harder it would be for me to have to destroy the secret lair, so I turned around and headed towards the room I had accessed, where the carpet was waiting to be set on fire.

At this point, you might have figured out one of my fatal flaws: I'm very curious and nosy. I can't help it. When something catches my attention, I have to look it up, I just can't let it go. I'm very bad at focusing on one thing, it's as if my mind is constantly trying to find more things to focus on, or to be distracted with. So it was inevitable that instead of going to light the carpet up, I stopped to examine the cube.

I shouldn't have even noticed it, because it was in the other end of the room, with its small platform surrounded by books, maps, and more of those black folders, but still, the red glow of the cube caught my eye. I went to inspect it, slightly confused. Was this another trophy from a villain? I couldn't think of who would have used something like this in their arsenal of weapons. In my years as an enthusiast of the metahuman history of my city, I had never seen anything similar. It was a perfect cube, about four inches on each side. I had no idea what material it was built on, but it looked like some kind of crystal. A beautiful glass box that, interestingly enough, seemed to contain a red nebula inside. It was hard to explain, like some kind of bright smoke that moved ever so slowly.

"Where did you get this, Ace?" I asked quietly.

There wasn't any inscription or plaque that could give me a clue what kind of object this was. I looked at the nearby folders, reading the labels on their backs. "Archaeological Records." "Egyptian Mythology." "Various cultural references". "Meteor landing excavation". "Advanced Geometry: The Fourth Dimension". "Medical reports."

I had never liked mathematics, so I totally ignored that one book about advanced geometry. I also assumed that the archeological, cultural and mythology references would be something that he used for his work, and probably had nothing to do with the cube that rested next to them. "Medical reports," however ... Just out of curiosity, I decided to grab the folder and examine its contents. I went through page after page, without really understanding most of the studies and diagnoses.

The things that did catch my eye were the pictures and photographs. Hooked with clips to different pages, I found many photographs of who was undoubtedly Nifty Spade A.K.A Ace Savvy. I say "undoubtedly" because his hair and face were the same... but there were a series of photographs that seemed to be taken of two totally different people. In the first series, taken a long time ago, I could see a younger version of Ace Savvy, maybe in his late teens, looking all small and skinny. He looked like a member of the chess club with severe flu going on. And yet, the following photographs showed the same person, almost with the same face, but also taller, with broader shoulders, pectorals the size of a pillow, and legs almost wider than my entire body. There were lots of annotations in red and black fibers, highlighting the differences in height (from 5'3" to 6'), weight (from 132lbs to 250lbs), and other data that I was too dumb to understand.

"What does this mean? How…?"

My head was starting to hurt as I processed this information. I wouldn't have been surprised to see smoke coming out of my ears. Was Ace Savvy actually two people? How had he changed so much? I put the folder aside. I didn't know what to do with this new information or how to interpret it.

I looked back at the cube, and... Have you ever felt the desire to do something that you knew you shouldn't do? Like, I don't know, walking down the street, seeing a trash can, and feeling a strange urge to kick it. You know you shouldn't do it, and even if there's no one around to stop you, your consciousness is holding you back so you don't. And you don't even know why you want to kick it. You only feel an impulse to do it. Well, I felt that way. That strange cube seemed to be calling to me, whispering into my mind to grab it. My conscience tried to stop me, but it was a losing battle.

I just wanted to touch it for a second, what could go wrong?

I slowly leaned forward, raised my hand, and closed my fingers on the crystalline surface. It was extremely smooth, like perfectly polished glass. I picked it up, and as I turned it around I noticed that it felt warm, as if that strange element inside the glass was radiating a—

**ZAP!**

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The cube shot a blinding spark, like an overloaded battery. The noise and the sheer amount of light made me scream and drop the cube, letting it fall to the floor.

I backed up so fast that I fell back. It took my eyes a couple of long seconds to recover from the flash, but to my utter terror, I didn't feel okay right away. I wasn't hurt, but I felt dizzy. I was shaking, feeling an electric tingling that expanded from my hand to the rest of the muscles in my body. I tried to stand up, but my legs shook like they were made out of jelly, and just standing up was almost as difficult as a whole workout. I staggered to the long table with the map of Royal Woods, on which I supported myself to try to regain control of my body. The beating of my heart rumbled inside my skull like a basketball bouncing in an empty gym.

Not gonna lie, I thought I was going to die.

I panicked. Burning down the house was suddenly the least of my worries. I didn't even remember what was supposed to be my mission. I just wanted to go back with my dads and make sure that I didn't die.

I ran to the entry, bumping into several chairs and couches. I barely noticed that, as soon as I stepped out of the library, the walls began moving again, returning to the appearance of a normal house. I didn't care. I opened the door and ran to the gates.

Unfortunately, in my state of confusion and dizziness, I completely forgot that there was a stone staircase. I failed to plant my foot firmly on the first step, and I fell forward. It was as if time slowed down. I watched in slow motion as the ground got nearer and dangerously closer to my beautiful freckled face, ready to break my nose or just ruin my day. It didn't seem like it was going to be a happy landing.

But then I reacted.

As I fell, I noticed the weight of my shoulder unbalancing forward. I didn't want to hurt myself, so I just… instinctively dodged it. I ducked my head to increase my momentum, I stretched my right hand to put it on the floor, almost like I was doing a handstand, and I impulsed myself to do a little flip and fall on my feet a few steps down below.

If I hadn't been so dazed and confused, I would have been impressed at myself, and I would probably stop for a second to think how I might have done something that never in my entire life I even thought I could try. But I didn't even realize what I had done. I was just focused on opening the door with the key that Ace had given me and walk to the street.

I had to blink a couple of times to make sense of my surroundings. The ground wasn't spinning around me anymore, but my whole body was still shaking. I walked like a drunk to the end of the street and I stared at the horizon, suddenly realizing how many blocks I had to walk to get to my house.

"Dang it."

* * *

I'm happy to report that, as I was making my way downtown, walking fast, faces passed, and I was getting better. My mental and physical state was improving. My muscles stopped aching, my mind was able to think clearly, and my heart was beating normally without threatening to come out of my chest Alien-style. By the time I got home, I was feeling much, much better, and aside from a headache, the only palpable sequel that I had was the fear that still flowed through my veins after the incident. What the hell was that all about? Had I really been as close to death as I thought?

When I got inside my house, Clyde was passing the vacuum cleaner on the carpet. He stopped to say hi to me, and his face was filled with worry.

"You look terrible," he said, getting closer to me.

"Thanks."

"You're lucky our dads aren't home. They would have a heart attack if they saw you like this."

"Where are they?" I asked as I went to the kitchen. I needed to drink something.

"The heir of Yates Enterprise called them for an emergency. She needs to attend an event and she needs to wear a prettier dress than the Sweetwater's daughter."

"That kid seems to always need something urgent," I mentioned, filling a glass with cold water and a few ice cubes.

"Yeah, well, we have what we have thanks to her mostly."

"Heh, I guess that's true."

I finished my drink and, I gotta say, it really helped me. My throat stopped being so dry, and part of the annoying piercing pain in my temples went away. I was still pretty shocked, though. And confused, mostly. Pretty confused.

"Hey, why don't you sit down and watch some TV?" Clyde suggested, placing a hand on my shoulders. "I'll make some milkshakes for us."

"Yeah, I… I'll do that. Thank you."

He smiled, and I felt grateful to the universe for letting me be a part of Clyde's family. I decided to listen to him, so I quickly went to the couch and turned on the TV. I intended to quickly put on Disney+ and maybe check out that new sci-fi show everyone was talking about. But as soon as the TV went on, a news channel was up, and I felt attracted to it like a moth to a lightbulb.

It was a local network, and apparently, the host was interviewing a guest. I know the anchorman, of course, but this was my first time seeing the guest. It was a man no younger than fifty or sixty years old, and he had the exact anatomy one would expect from a snowman. His big torso was as rounded as his head, which seemed to be made out of 80% fat, 10% face, and 10% baldness and sideburns. His tiny eyes seemed like dark buttons, hidden behind a voluptuous nose from which a white mustache sprouted. His chin was barely visible between so many dewlaps.

He was pretty disgusting in all beauty standards, but at least he was well dressed. He wore an executive style suit in a dark blue shade, a white kerchief coming out from one of the pockets in his chest, and a red ascot. On top of his head, there was a very tall, very thin top hat that looked almost cartoonish next to his head.

I had no idea who this strange man was, but the title of the interview was designed to catch people's attention, just like it did with me: "ARE WE SAFE WITHOUT ACE SAVVY?"

" _...violence, with police sources admitting that just today, there were more than thirteen registered emergency calls for theft and assaults _ ," the interviewer was explaining. " _ Without Ace Savvy patrolling the streets, do you think that the police and the statal organisms are prepared to keep the order in our city? _ "

The Michelin man sighed, looking visibly sad and affected.

" _ I think the answer to that is definitely 'no', David. It hurts to say it, especially with the friendship that I have with our Mayor, but reality can't be denied. The data is out there, it's irrefutable: Royal Woods isn't prepared to deal with crime efficiently and safely. Ace Savvy, may he rest in peace, was the only thing that kept us from falling into utter chaos. Now that he's gone, who can we trust? Eclipse? Nova? They're kids, David, kids. They're not ready to protect a city. I don't feel safe with just them watching over us _ ."

" _ So, would you say it's time for everyone to panic? _ "

The man laughed.

" _ No, no, certainly not. I think that the unfortunate turn of events has left us in a situation where we can no longer resign ourselves to what we have, and we need to start looking forward to seeing how we can improve our situation. The age of heroes has been long left behind for us. Their acts of heroism have inspired millions, but here in Royal Woods, we can't keep putting our safety in the hands of a handful of metahumans. Why has the public accepted that our security must depend exclusively on the will of people with superpowers that they may or may not fully control? Why have we just accepted that our security forces aren't ready to deal with metahumans? I understand having faith in humanity and that good will always triumph over evil, it's a very comforting thought. But I'm a visionary, David, a futurist. And in my vision, mankind won't need to trust in the morality of metahumans to stay safe; they'll trust themselves, and in the abilities that we all have to protect ourselves as a species. _ "

" _ I respect your vision as a futurist, but I'm more of a 'presentist'. Having just admitted a few minutes ago that our police officers aren't ready to maintain peace and order, what reasons do the general population have to feel safe nowadays, now that our protector is gone? _ "

A smile was painted on the old man's face.

" _ That's the million-dollar question, David. What can we place our faith in? Well, that's why I'm here today. Tetherby Industries has spent the last two decades developing last generation armaments and logistics in the sphere of private security, and for several years now, we have been the number one choice of contractors from all over the State of Michigan to provide security measures to metahuman prisons. Our numbers are outstanding: we are, objectively, the best and most trustworthy company regarding private security in the business. We don't have any more heroes to protect us. We need to make sure that the police can respond to the threats that attack us. _ "

" _ Are you suggesting that you want to give our police officers last generation technology and weapons? _ "

" _ Not only give them the weapons but also train them and make sure that they become the most efficient they've ever been. A force to be reckoned with, on the same level than the Army. _ "

" _ Is Tetherby Industries ready to tackle such a huge task? _ "

" _ We're the only ones that are ready to do so _ ."

The fat man looked confident and proud. His puffed out chest looked like an air balloon, pushing his second chin upwards. He was apparently a businessman, but truth be told, he looked like a king. A very cartoonish king: well dressed, fat, looking down on everyone else, talking with arrogance, and as if his words were gospel. Even being just a guest, he seemed to be in control of the conversation.

" _ I see _ ," David said, fixing some papers on his desk. " _ Very well, we're now live in a phone call with our trusty journalist Katherine Mulligan. Katherine, we're here at the studio with Lord Tetherby from Tetherby Industries _ ."

" _ Thanks, David _ ," said the voice that I had had a conversation with not too long ago. She sounded tense, with an edge in her voice. " _ Alright, mister Tetherby— _ "

" _ Lord Tetherby, actually _ ," the man interrupted her.

" _ Mister Tetherby _ ," she insisted, " _ I understand that you're defending the economic interests of your own company, but don't you think you should at least mention to the viewers the millionaire contracts that Tetherby Industries has signed with the prisons, which costs the State an unfathomable amount of resources that are being deviated from the public works? _ "

Tetherby's confident face tensed. His smile grew wider, but it looked much more forced than before.

" _ I think the viewers understand that their safety is a priority in these times of danger and uncertainty. Don't all the mothers at home want to make sure that the dangerous villains and metahumans stay away from their kids? _ "

" _ Probably, but I'm sure everyone at home is also worried about keeping their jobs. _ "

Tetherby and David exchanged a confused look.

" _ Are you saying that there's a correlation between Tetherby Industries' private services and unemployment? _ " David asked.

" _ I'm saying that, maybe, Tetherby Industries is developing certain technologies designed to replace workers, and Royal Woods may be the only place that hasn't outright rejected his business proposal. Being friends with the Mayor probably doesn't hurt. Isn't that right? _ "

I didn't understand what was going on, but I sat on the edge of my seat. She sounded very serious, but her voice had a jovial tone to it like she knew something that the rest of us didn't. Whatever it was, it seemed to be something that Tetherby recognized, because he squinted his eyes, and his fingers closed into a fist on the table.

" _ I don't know what you're talking about, lady, but I'm sure that anything you want to say must be backed up with evidence. Otherwise, you'd be setting yourself up for a lawsuit. I don't think a woman like you is willing to get into that much trouble. _ "

There was an awkward silence that stretched for some seconds. I was so focused on the tension that seemed to be growing at the studio that my heart almost jumped to my throat when Clyde appeared next to me with two milkshakes.

"Here you go," he happily said, sitting next to me on the couch. "So, anything interesting to watch?"

I looked at the fat man, who had begun to argue and talk over Katherine Mulligan, with the anchorman trying to calm them both down.

I took the remote and quickly changed the channel.

"Just some boring news."

* * *

I went to bed early that night. After dinner, tiredness took over my body once again, like a giant, heavy, invisible hand pressing down on me. My eyelids felt heavy and I could barely keep them open. I put on my pajamas, and I'm pretty sure that as soon as I pressed my head down on the pillow, I was dragged to dreamland. At least that's what I think. I honestly don't remember dreaming anything by the time the stupid alarm woke me up around six o clock. It was always tough getting up on Mondays.

" _ Clyde, Lincoln, wake up! _ " Said the voice of one of our dads from outside the room, while they gently knocked on the door. We both let out some grunts to let them know that we were alive and awake.

I rubbed my eyes and I sat up. A second later, my eyes were wide open and my whole body seemed ready for action. I blinked and moved my legs, surprised at the fact that I didn't feel any numbness at all.

"Wow," I said out loud, "I feel… awake."

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" said Clyde, still trapped in the limbo between dreams and reality, covering his face with his blanket.

I'm usually that way too in the mornings. It always took me some solid ten minutes until I was fully awake and ready to face the day. This time, however, was as if by just opening my eyes all sleepiness and tiredness had left me. I attributed it to a good night's rest. Since I was ready, and I didn't want to waste time, I just grabbed my clothes for school, a towel, and went to the bathroom.

Once inside, I turned on the shower, and as I waited for the water to warm up, I brushed my teeth. Finishing that up, and with the steam escaping from the top of the curtain, I decided to take my clothes off. As I was about to unbutton the top, though, I noticed that my shirt was tight on my chest and shoulders. It felt like it had shrunk a little during the night. Oh, well, maybe my dads had left it in the washing machine a little too long. I'd ask them for a new one if it turned out to be uncomfortable. I took the shirt off, and I was about to fold it and leave it aside when I looked at my arms and chest.

I almost screamed.

See, I've always been what many people like to call "a nerd". With everything that's stereotypically associated with them. I liked science fiction, reading, I do well in school, I play Dungeons And Dragons, video games, and I was never precisely athletic. I was part of the scrawny kids, the less dexterous, the skinny boys that are picked last in gym class.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up and found myself with well-defined pecs and abs, and with arms that, even though they weren't much bigger, they definitely had more muscle in them than they had last night. I touched my abs with the tip of my fingers, and I was surprised by how solid they were. I slithered my hand throughout my whole torso and core. It wasn't a smooth, soft surface anymore. It was a land filled with geographical accidents, like a valley crossed by mountain ranges.

"What the heck is going on?" I said, examining myself. My face also looked a little thinner. My shoulders and back seemed more defined. And near my waist, I could clearly see the beginning of the abdominal V that I always saw in models and Hollywood actors. I touched my quadriceps and they also seemed bigger and stronger than last night. Same with my calves.

What about…? Curiosity won me over. I dropped my pants.

"Holy…"

A light bulb turned on over my head. It all made sense now.

"Puberty!"

I was only eleven years old, but this was the only logical explanation for these…  _ big _ changes. I had always heard that it was a sudden process that felt weird, and now I could clearly understand why. I didn't know how to tell Clyde or my dads about this, but I assumed that we probably would need a talk to figure this out or something, right?

I tried not to think about that as I showered. When I walked out of the bathroom, already dressed in my red shirt, jeans, and white sneakers, I felt like the world fit the palm of my hands. It was hard to explain. I was in a very good mood, with the energy to do anything I wanted. My shirt seemed a tiny little bit tight on my shoulders and chest, but it wasn't uncomfortable or anything. It accentuated a little my now pubescent body, but it wasn't a big deal. And when I put on my orange hoodie with black sleeves, it was almost impossible to see that there was something different in me. On my way to the kitchen, I saw Clyde, who had barely gotten up and was on his way to the bathroom.

"M-Morning… Lincoln," he said, yawning in the middle.

"Good morning, Cadet Clyde!"

My dads and Clyde seemed surprised by my energy during breakfast. We chatted happily until they drove us to school. As I was in the car, I had to stop myself to think for the first time about the fact that I hadn't actually burned Ace Savvy's house down like he specifically asked me to. I would do it later that day. Or that night. I was thinking about it until Clyde brought me back to reality.

"Hey, are you doing alright?" He asked in a whisper, trying that our dads wouldn't hear him as they talked about traffic in the front seats.

"Me? Yeah, I'm alright. Why do you ask?"

"It's just… well, yesterday you seemed pretty weary and bummed out," he mentioned, looking worried. "You almost looked sick. And now… You look much better, but also like you have a lot going on in your head."

As always, he knew everything.

"I'm sorry I've been making you worried. The truth is that… yeah, I'm still pretty shocked by everything that happened. But today… I woke up differently. Very different."

"I understand," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You're still sad, but you know that you can't just let the negative thoughts control you and that you need to put on a smile to face reality and overcome the difficulties."

He left me speechless. I kinda wanted to let him know about my puberty and how energetic I felt, but his explanation was too good to reject.

"Exactly," I said, nodding like I was actually capable of having such deep reflections. "I'm glad that someone understands me."

"Always, bro. Always."

We both smiled, and soon enough he took out his phone to show me some funny videos until we got to school.

I'd tell him the truth later anyway.

* * *

The first few hours of school were weird. Miss Johnson spent the first two hours crying for Ace Savvy, which made us all depressed. She barely gave us a couple of math problems that, funny enough, I managed to solve immediately, much faster than even Stella. My friends seemed surprised.

"Those were super hard," Zach said, "how did you do them so fast?"

"I don't know. They seemed pretty straightforward to me."

I wasn't lying. Just by reading them, I figured out the relationship between the elements and the operations I needed to do. It was like my mind moved faster than usual.

Right after math ended, we had gym class, which didn't bring me any relief at all. It was always a class where I had a hard time, and where I was destined to receive at least four balls to the face.

The good news was that I had always been pretty shy, and would only change into my gym clothes inside a booth with curtains. No one could see me as I undressed, so the not-so-little overnight changes to my body remained secret.

When we went outside, I couldn't help but appreciate like a fool how beautiful Jordan looked in her gym clothes. She literally was the prettiest girl in the world.

"Watch that drooling," Clyde said to me with a knowing smirk. Just in case, I touched my chin. No drool, it was just a joke.

The coach waited until all of us were standing in line before blowing on his whistle as hard as he could just to annoy us.

"Alright kids, Ace Savvy is dead and our lives are screwed because of it. Some of us are lucky enough to have plans of moving away from this God-forsaken town, but most of you will stay, so you need to learn to survive. From now on, this isn't gym class anymore, this is Survival 101. We'll warm up with a little fifteen-minutes run, so if you need any motivation to do it, picture a criminal running after you, and it's up to your legs to see if you can survive. Run!"

With a pep talk like that, it was hard not to take the warm-up seriously. I started to run, trying to stay at the same pace as Clyde, Rusty, Zach, and Liam. Jordan and Stella were always running at their own pace, much faster than ours. Stella because she had longer legs, and Jordan because she was one of the most athletic kids in our class.

"Doesn't it… seem a little… unfair that everyone's… underestimating… Nova and Eclipse so much?" Zach asked us, finding it hard to catch his breath while running and talking at the same time.

"Yeah, I think… they'll do good… Maybe not as good as Ace, but… as long as they're around… things may not be… lost," Clyde said, just as tired.

"It's not that… I don't trust them… but they're pretty young… and it's just a matter of… time before they disappear, too," added Liam.

That was right. As much faith as I had in them, the truth is that they had barely begun their superhero career a year ago. They were rookies, and there was no reason to believe that they would be able to survive Royal Wood's curse. That was the main reason why we all looked up to Ace Savvy so much, and why he was a living legend. He was the only hero that had managed to survive. The only one we could count on, the only person that we thought would always be there to watch over us.

"I don't know if they'll be able to keep the legacy of Ace alive," I said, "but they're brave enough to use their powers for good, and they're willing to risk their lives to try and keep the rest of us safe. They fight for justice, and I think that as long as there are others like them, things can get much brighter."

I realized that I had no problem having a conversation and keeping my breath while running. In fact, my muscles weren't aching at all. I was running at a relatively fast pace, and yet I felt like I could've kept that up for hours with no problem.

"Lincoln's right… we need… w-we need t-to… trust in Eclip— AAAAH! CHARLEY HORSE!"

Rusty fell to the floor, grabbing his right calf. No-one stopped to help him.

"Spokes!" The coach yelled, blowing his whistle once again. "The villain caught you because you couldn't even win a race against a crippled snail on a salt field! You're dropping faster than Argentina’s economy! Life isn't another one of your video games, you don't have a second opportunity! You're dead, kid!"

"I-I need help…"

"What you need us to stand up and run for your life!"

We just laughed. Rusty always found a way to trip over or get a charley horse during gym class. It's not that we didn't care about his health, but we were just used to it. As I laughed, I didn't realize that the rest of my friends were slowing down their running pace. Unlike them, laughing out loud didn't seem to affect my breathing or ability to run. I unconsciously went a bit faster, and when I opened my eyes, I was almost behind Stella and Jordan, who were in the middle of what seemed to be a nice conversation.

The former seemed to sense my ki since she turned around and looked at me. She smiled in my direction, turned her head to look at Jordan for a second, and looking back at me with a little spark of mischief in her eyes, she hand-gestured me to go with them. I was a little anxious but immediately picked up my pace to join them, getting in the middle of the two.

"Hey, Lincoln," she said. "We were just talking about you."

My cheeks turned as red as our uniforms.

"Stella!" Jordan complained, and I could've sworn that she looked a bit embarrassed as well.

"I, uh, I hope it wasn't anything bad," I managed to say.

"No, of course not," Jordan quickly told me, shooting daggers with her eyes at Stella right before giving me a warm look. "It's just… we were wondering if you've been working out or something."

"Me? Uh, why?"

"I don't know, maybe we're crazy, but we seemed to notice that your shoulders look bigger," Stella admitted.

And in a gesture so audacious that left me more breathless than the running, she stretched a hand and squeezed my right biceps. I immediately tensed my arm, outright stunned at that, and she whistled with a wolfish grin.

"Yo! Jordan, check this out!"

"You're nuts."

"You've got to feel this!"

"Why don't you ask the coach to let Lincoln go with you to the nurse and hide in a closet if you want to touch him so much?" Jordan said, rolling her eyes, doing her best not to look at us and sounding pretty pissed off.

I felt on the verge of passing out. Stella was a great friend, and from time to time she might even joke with us with romantic hints here and there, just for fun. But one thing was for her to fool around and a very different one was for Jordan, the girl I had a crush on, made a joke about me and another girl locked in a closet.

Stella didn't seem to care at all. "Come _ooooon_ , you know you want to~."

"Ugh."

Jordan picked up the pace, running away from us. I saw her getting farther away from me like a loved one boarding on a plane. Her braided hair swung from side to side with each step she took, like a precious sandy blonde pendulum. I couldn't help but feel a bit bad. Should I have said something? Was it my fault?

Stella clicked her tongue, and when I turned around to look at her, she was also staring at Jordan, although she was smiling.

"She was the one that noticed that you seemed a bit different," she told me, leaning down to whisper those words into my ears.

"Uh… uh… uh…"

She giggled.

"Alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. Anyway, let's talk about DnD. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's say there's a chance that Silver Edge survives. It's not for sure, though. You took a big risk and you need to face the consequences. So I'm going to need you to, just in case, make a new character for our next session. Maybe they might become your new hero, or maybe you won't have to use it at all, the dice will tell. Is there any class or something that you'd be interested in playing?"

For the rest of the warm-up, we discussed a character creation, even though my head was busy thinking about the fact that Jordan had noticed that I looked different.

By the time the coach blew his whistle, the main concept of Syaoran Fang, a Shaolin monk that could use his inner ki to control the elements, was almost done.

"Alright kids, now that you're all warmed up it's time for survival lesson  _ número dos _ . Sometimes you'll be cornered by a villain and there won't be any other choice than dodging to stay alive. So let's get ready to play the most extreme dodgeball game of your lives!"

Dodgeball. Great. Two teams of ten people, five balls, only one survivor. I was always one of the first ones to be eliminated. I didn't like the game that much.

We divided into two teams as usual. My friends and I plus a few others against the rest of the class. I took a look at who was on the other side. Otto, Collin, Dylan, Mitch, Cody, Geoff, Aly, Valerie, and a few other athletic kids. Oof. Our only hopes were Jordan and Stella.

"Scorpion formation?" The latter suggested.

"Deal," we both said.

When we heard the whistle, we all launched to the balls placed at the center of the court.

I tried to dash as fast as I could, and I was surprised at how much faster than anyone else I was. I grabbed the first ball I could put a hand on and threw it to the closest person on the other side.

"You're out, Cody!" Coach yelled. I still had enough time to grab a second ball and hand it over to Jordan, who grabbed it and managed to eliminate someone. Unfortunately for our team, the other three balls went to the other side, and two of our classmates were eliminated as well.

We retreated to our scorpion formation, and for a couple of minutes, things were alright. We dodged what was thrown at us, let Jordan and Stella catch the balls, and then they would try their best to eliminate the other team. I noticed, however, that my friends seemed to react _waaaay_ too slowly. Stella's indications were coming in late, and many times I found myself being the only one that moved for several seconds until they reacted. So what to me seemed like extremely easy and avoidable shots, turned into dangerous situations for my friends.

When a sudden ball came flying from the right, I saw it much earlier than anyone else.

"Clyde, down!" I tried to warn him.

"Huh?"

BLAM!

He couldn't even react.

"Right!" I yelled, grabbing Liam by his shirt and effortlessly moving him just in time for him to dodge a shot. Unfortunately, Zach didn't understand my warning until it was too late.

With a few players less than the other team, they began abusing us. We were so busy dodging balls that we couldn't find time to counter. Or at least, Stella and Jordan couldn't. I felt that I could have had several opportunities to step forward and catch a few balls and maybe try to eliminate someone, but our strategy was always centered around us boys dodging, Stella catching, and Jordan shooting. But Stella couldn't catch any, and Jordan wasn't getting any ball from us to attack.

She managed to eliminate a few, but soon we were at a disadvantage of three versus six. The odds weren't in our favor.

"Stella, you need to catch a ball if we want to win this game!" Jordan told her, as competitive as always.

"It's not like I'm not trying! But they're too many, I can't stop to—!"

"Watch out!"

Three balls were coming in our direction. I jumped to a side, Jordan dropped to the floor, but Stella was a tall target.

"Stella, out!" The coach said, and our friend left the field rubbing her stomach, where the ball had hit her.

"Alright Lincoln, it's just you and me," Jordan told me, looking anxious. "Any idea?"

"Yeah. Don't get hit."

"You're such a strategist, Loud."

Truth be told, there wasn't much to do. Now that Stella was out, I assumed that it was my turn to take that role.

When a new round of balls flew towards us, I noticed the trajectory and the strength with which they were flying. Don't ask me how, but I had time to figure out the best intersection points, and I instinctively knew that I needed to jump to my right —almost in front of Jordan— which would leave me in a perfect spot to grab one and deflect a second one.

Actually, the two balls were pretty close to each other. Could I grab one with each hand? Something inside told me that I could.

This all happened inside my head in less than a second, by the way. It's not like I was actively thinking about it. My body just seemed to take all these decisions on its own.

Jordan let out a small and adorable surprised squeal when I jumped in front of her.

"Lincoln, watch out!"

The two balls went straight to me, and without even breaking a sweat, I stopped them midair with my hands.

Everyone gasped when they saw what I did, and it even took the coach a few seconds to blow his whistle.

"Uh, Dylan, Aly, you're both out. Get out of the field!"

"Quick, to Geoff," I told Jordan, giving her one of the balls as I took a step forward and took a shot for the first time in months.

Maybe I should have done it more often, because my ball went straight as an arrow in a perfect trajectory from my hand to Collin's chest, knocking him down a few feet behind.

"Out!"

Jordan also took a shot, and a stunned Geoff couldn't dodge it in time.

"You're out! Two versus two! Let's go!"

Only Mitch and Valerie on the other side. Things were now looking good to us. I just needed to leave Jordan free so she could eliminate them. We didn't have any balls on our side, so if they attacked us, we were helpless.

"I'll distract them," I told my friend, and I ran to the other side. "Hey! Over here!"

I started to move my arms around, trying to catch their attention. The two of them took the first balls that they found, and without hesitation, Mitch threw it to me. Val also began moving her arm, and I could see in my mind the trajectory her ball would have. Deciding that my best shot was to jump high to dodge both balls —Val's seemed to be heading to my feet—, I got a little impulse and then jumped, starting to turn around to get a better positioning when I fell.

However, Val seemed to change her plans, and at the last second, she stopped herself, turned around, and threw Jordan a ball. My friend, unfortunately, was too distracted looking at me jumping. The ball seemed to be going straight to her face.

I couldn't let her be hit on the face! I didn't want her to be hurt or eliminated. So in the middle of me turning around mid-air, I stretched a hand. I grabbed the ball —eliminating Mitch in the process—, and taking advantage of the momentum, I twisted my arm and threw it as hard as I could in Jordan's direction.

It flew across the whole gym until, just a few feet away from her, it perfectly intercepted Val's shot. Jordan seemed to be frightened by the sound of two balls crashing mid-air in front of her, but she soon got her head back in the game. She grabbed the ball I threw there, which had ended up bouncing right in front of her —I can't say I did it intentionally, although a little part of my brain had considered that possibility—, and she quickly threw it with the expertise of a trained sniper, eliminating the last rival.

The entire class was left speechless. The coach didn't even blow his whistle to announce the two eliminations or the end of the game. Everyone, including Jordan, seemed too busy looking at me like I had grown a third arm on my back.

"Uh…" I began, rubbing the back of my neck, confused at embarrassed at suddenly being in the spotlight, "did I do something wrong?"


	4. Dealing out some justice

Are any of you  _ really _ good at something? Anything. It could be a sport, playing an instrument, or some talent that you're particularly proud of. In general, I don't stand out in anything in particular, although I guess I can say I'm very competent when it comes to videogames, especially if they're fighting games. I've played countless hours of  _ Super Dragon: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 _ , and it's one of those games where I feel like I can beat anyone. I have great skills to chain up combos, time my super moves, my parries, and getting out of tough spots.

The curious thing about being really good at something is that there comes a time where you do things without actively thinking about them. Whenever I'm playing against Clyde or any of my friends, I don't have to stop every second to think about all the combinations of buttons I need to press in the exact order and instant to counter a combo. I've got that incorporated in my muscle memory and it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I only really stop to think about what I've done once someone else mentions it. It's only then when I'm like "Huh, that's right, this thing I'm doing is actually pretty awesome". If no one would point it out to me, I'd probably not even realize it.

Following the same logic, perhaps I would have never realized just how absurd my show of dexterity had been during gym class if I didn't have all my friends going bananas trying to figure out how I had done it.

"That was AMAZING!"

"I'd never seen anyone dodging like that!"

"It looked right out of a darn movie!"

"How'd you do that?"

"I… just did it."

It was true. All my actions had seemed pretty straightforward in my mind: duck, dodge, jump, turn, throw. I caught and threw that ball in the middle of the air because I didn't want Jordan to get hurt. I wasn't trying to do a crazy somersault or anything like that. For me, it had been a simple process: "How can I intercept that ball? Oh, sure, like this".

Only now, after showering, and as we walked towards our classroom for the last couple of hours of school for the day, having all my friends commenting on what I had done, I was starting to understand that something wasn't quite right. I had never been good at dodgeball. Like, ever. I always embarrassed myself and was between the first eliminated. I seldom managed to take someone equally as bad as me on the other team, but I never had any moment of dexterity like what I had shown earlier.

I mean, come on, I couldn't even jump a rope five times in a row. How did I do those crazy stunts? Why was everything becoming so easy for me all of a sudden? Not only dodgeball, but I'm also talking about math homework and geography and everything that I did that morning. I wasn't a bad student or anything, but I was also not a genius to have all the answers come to my mind right away like I had a privileged memory and mind. Was this related to my physical changes as well? Everything was happening too fast, and I wasn't sure I would be able to deal with it right away. My life seemed to be getting out of my control. Just the day before I had had to attend Ace Savvy's funeral right before going to his house where—

The answer hit me harder than any dodgeball had ever done before. I felt my stomach twisting in a knot, and my now keen mind was putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.

The cube. Whatever it was, it had released something into me the moment I touched it, something that started a chain reaction of some sort. I remembered those old photos of Ace and his two very different bodies, one much more developed and athletic than the other. I had quick flashes in my mind of those folders next to the cube. Besides mythology and history, it mentioned excavations. He was an archeologist…

The narrative wasn't complete in my head, but I thought I had a solid hypothesis: Nifty Spade had participated in an excavation where he had found that cube, and after activating it just like I had done, he turned into Ace Savvy.

It was so crazy and unlikely… that it even made sense. Was it that the reason why he had never been affected by Royal Wood's curse? Maybe he didn't disappear like every other hero because, unlike them, he wasn't metahuman from birth. That idea sparked a memory in me. Ace would always, constantly repeat that  _ anyone _ could be a hero.

" _ Being born with powers, well, that's something you can't control nor choose. But being a hero is more than being a metahuman or not: being a hero boils down to simply making the right choice whenever we're faced with one. _ "

Suddenly, all his talks and declarations throughout the years made more sense. He wasn't born as a metahuman, he had turned into a superhero much later in life. And now I carried that same gift.

I had superpowers now.

Were they superpowers, though? As far as I'd noticed, they were just some amazing reflexes and an increase in my dexterity stat. Was that enough to be a hero? I wasn't sure it was. Maybe it had only awakened some sort of Ultra Instinct inside of me. I didn’t know, but for the rest of the class, I couldn't focus on anything else. I could only think of what that would mean for me if it was true.

Sometimes… sometimes I felt jealous of people being born as metahumans. Who wouldn't? Who wouldn't be able to have some amazing secret power that makes you special and unique? Who wouldn't be thrilled to have a superpower that would let you help the rest of humanity? Now and then I wondered why I was just a simple person, with nothing special on me except for my white hair. And now… now I had finally found something spectacular that set me apart.

As always, it was Clyde the one that shook me out of my thoughts.

"Together as always?" He asked me from the seat to my right, poking my elbow with his pencil.

"Huh? What?"

"The project," he said, pointing at the chalkboard. It was only then when I noticed that, apparently, our teacher had explained some sort of science project that we would all be doing in pairs. "It's going to last for a couple of months, so we'll have a huge advantage of living together and stuff."

"Oh. Well, yeah, sure, we-"

"Actually," said Stella, turning around from her seat right in front of mine, looking at us McBrides with a funny look in her eye, like she knew the punchline to a joke she hadn't told us yet, "I was going to ask Clyde if he wouldn't mind doing this project with me."

"What?" We both said.

Ever since first grade, Clyde and I did all our group projects together. It was our tradition.

"Yeah, well, I just think it's healthy to shake things up every once in a while, changing our partners and leaving our comfort zone," she said, almost as if she had planned out a speech.

"Well… Doctor Lopez does say the same," Clyde mentioned, "but I don't know, why the sudden interest in doing it with me?"

"Wait, what?" Jordan said right then, sitting as always in front of Clyde and to Stella's right, whom she looked at confused. "You don't want to do this with me? Then who am I supposed to do it with?"

Clyde and Stella shared a look, and for some reason, my brother gave her a wicked smile.

"You know what? I think you're right, changing the routine is a very healthy thing to do. Let's do it!"

"That's what I'm talking about, McBride!" Stella said, bumping fists with my brother.

"Wait, wait, what am I supposed to do then?" I asked, still confused.

My friend giggled.

"I suppose you'll have to find someone who doesn't have a partner. Hey, Jordan, you don't have a partner either, do you?"

My heart started running on the treadmill that my chest had become, almost like a raging bull, shaking the whole place around. I squeezed my pencil so hard I could feel it breaking in two inside my fist. That's funny, that had never happened before. I didn't care, however, for my eyes were fixed on Jordan, on her delicate golden braid, her sunflower-like yellow shirt, her emerald eyes. I may have had powers, but she was still my kryptonite.

Her eyes squinted until there was only a tiny groove from which she seemed to be studying our two friends. After a few seconds of intense evaluation, she rolled her eyes and smiled in my direction.

"I suppose we're a team now, Lincoln."

"Yeah. I suppose we are," I said, doing my best to keep a neutral face as if I was in the final table of a poker tournament.

There were only about twenty minutes left in class, and up until the bell rang to set us all free, my mind spent them coming up with scenarios where Jordan and I had an awesome time together, studying and falling in love.

By the time we walked out of the building, Rusty, Zach, and Liam joined the rest of us, and Stella took the opportunity to try to organize our next DnD session.

"I was thinking, since tomorrow is Secret Identity Day, what if we hang out early to continue with the campaign?"

"I can't in the morning," Clyde said, "my parents are taking advantage of the holiday to get my eyes checked."

"What about the afternoon?" Liam suggested.

"Yeah, the afternoon would be much better for me."

"That would give us time to hang out and figure out what we want to do for our project," added Zach, looking excitedly at Rusty. "I was thinking of doing an essay on aliens and their relation to the appearance of metahumans."

"Aw, I wanted to sleep late in the morning," Rusty begrudgingly admitted.

“Alright, then we can do it in the late afternoon,” said Stella with a smile.

Jordan, who was walking on the other extreme of the line we were all walking in, leaned forward so I could look at her.

"Do you have any plans, Lincoln?"

I was about to say that I didn't even before she finished asking it, but then I remembered Rusty's advice on female psychology and decided to play hard to get.

"Me? Well… I don't know, I do have some stuff to do. You know… hard, uh, stuff. Complicated. Men stuff. Why are you asking?"

I went along with my attempt at fooling her by putting my arms behind my head like I was super relaxed, but it turned out to be uncomfortable, so I crossed them over my chest, but that made me look like I was closing myself in my personal space, so I tried to put my hands on my hoodie's pockets, and by then I had managed to look like an idiot. Deception check: a natural one.

"Well," she said, stifling a laugh, "if you  _ hard, complicated men stuff _ don't take you too long, we could also hang out to define our project."

"You know what? I think I can make some space in my agenda for you."

"I'm flattered."

"Where do you want to go?" I asked. I was starting to get anxious thinking of all the things that could go well, and everything that could go wrong.

"What about the library?" She suggested with a smile.

My reaction wasn't as positive.

"The library? That sounds a bit… boring. Wouldn't it be better to do it in one of our houses?"

If I was lucky, maybe she'd invite me over to her house, and I would finally meet it. We knew it was in a pretty luxury neighborhood, but as far as I knew, Stella was the only one that had ever been invited there.

Her face, however, suddenly wore a mask of worry. She straightened her back and leaned back a bit, hidden from my gaze by the rest of our friends.

"I, uh, I don't think we might be able to do it in my house, and I wouldn't want to bother your parents…"

"Jordan, you'd never be a bother!" Clyde said, beating me to it. "I'm sure our parents would love to have you, they'll probably cook something super nice for lunch if you're there."

"Yeah. Plus, I'm sure they'll thank you for giving them an excuse so Lincoln cleans up his room," Stella jabbed, making everyone laugh except for me.

"Well, alright. Your house, then," Jordan conceded.

Soon we reached the parking lot. Rusty, Stella, and Zach's parents were there, waiting for them. Jordan would take the bus back home, and Liam had left his horse grazing a man's backyard in front of the school. The guy would give him five dollars for having the horse mowing the grass, but it was Liam's responsibility to clean up after the mess.

Clyde and I didn't live too far away from school, and since our parents were at work at this time of day, we took the freedom of walking back home. And when I say "freedom", I mean it. Our dads are the best guys in the world, no doubt about it, but they worry too much about us, and we seldom have the opportunity to do anything without their direct supervision. Even when we're home alone, we usually have a long list of chores to do and dozens of restrictions on what we're allowed to do without them there. Having some time for ourselves, not worrying about our responsibilities or chores was always welcomed.

It was all peace and quiet as we walked down the streets heading to our home until we randomly walked right into the darkest, most dangerous side of our town.

"NOOO, PLEASE!"

The desperate cry of a woman reached our eyes, petrifying us right away, like a banshee's wail. About two hundred feet away from us, two men had surrounded a lady that seemed desperate to put herself between them and a small, terrified little girl that was holding on to her legs. They were all screaming at each other, with the lady begging to be left alone and the men aggressively demanding something from her. I couldn't pick up what they were saying from where I was. I was stunned, terrified.

And then, one of the men took a step back and threw a fist that hit the poor woman squarely on the face. I don't think the dry sound of the impact reached my ears, but I could perfectly hear it. She collapsed to the ground, probably passed out or on the verge of it, and the girl began howling in terror. Not caring about it at all, one of the men grabbed the woman's purse, and the other one placed a hand on the child's head.

As if it was all a dream, time seemed to stop. I got an adrenaline rush when I saw that man that had just decked a woman get closer to the kid. Every muscle in my body seemed to tense, ready to act, waiting for a call to action. My body was ready to go, to yell, to run to defend the defenseless child… but my mind wasn't. I felt an instinctive feeling to protect her, to help her, like there was a thin rope attached to my chest and someone was pulling it towards the crime I was witnessing. Trying to get me to go there, driving me to the person that needed me the most at that instant. The feeling was strong, but so was my fear. I stood there, simply staring at how the guy took something away from the little girl, who didn't even offer any resistance as she cried out loud.

"HEY! STOP THERE!"

A man got out of a store on the other side of the street, yelling and starting to walk to the two thugs that ran right away like the cowards they were.

Unfortunately, they decided to run right in our direction.

"Run!" Clyde yelled, crossing the street right away, not even looking to the sides with how fast he was moving.

I stood in my place for some seconds, looking at the two guys that were getting closer and closer to me. They were both big and sturdy. I couldn't tell how much was muscle and how much a slight overweight, but they were two locomotives moving to my position. They were dressing in similar outfits, both with worn-out jeans and hoodies, even though the day wasn't that warm. One of them was bald, wearing the grey hoodie, and the other one had a black beanie, the same color as his hoodie. From where I stood, they looked like a rhino and a bull charging at me.

My fight or flight reaction finally kicked in, going for the latter. I ran back from where I came from as fast as I could, and I turned into the first alley that I found. There was a trash container there, but having learned my lesson about hiding behind them, I searched for an alternative. To my right, there was a small, four-stories building with a set of emergency stairs that led to the alley. Unfortunately, the last section wasn't set, so it couldn't be accessed from the streets. However, thinking fast, I noticed that the container was relatively close to it. In any normal circumstance, what I wanted to do shouldn't have been possible, but then I remembered what happened in gym class and decided to take a shot.

I ran at the container, jumping at the last second. I can't explain how, but I managed to get to the top of it, and from there, I dashed next to the wall to the stairs. I jumped from the edge of the container, my shoulders almost scraping the dust out of the brick wall, and when I stretched my hand, I managed to close it to one of the steel bars from the metal staircase. With only one hand, I was able to pull myself up enough to reach the first rest, and just in case, I climbed to the second floor and laid down on my stomach, hoping that the stairs would hide me.

I prayed for that to be the case and that I was really out of danger, especially when a few seconds later the two thugs got into the alley. I held my breath, not wanting to even move as the two stopped right beneath me.

"Fuck, that hurt," said the bald one, flicking her wrist. "But not as much as it hurt her, ha."

I could see them through the small slits of the wire mesh. A drop of sweat began sliding down from my forehead into my nose. I had to cross my eyes to look at it when it reached the top, and I panicked thinking that it might drop over the bald man's head, alerting them of my presence.

As they kept talking, I tried my best to stretch my tongue and catch it.

"That guy's gonna call the cops, we have to go."

"They won't get us, police stations are completely collapsed."

"What if those Nova and Eclipse bitches come after us?"

"They… Come on, what are the chances-?"

"Listen, I can't go risk going to jail again," the guy with the black beanie said. "You go to the avenue and I'll go to the stadium. Lowkey."

"Where do we meet up?"

"The bridge in the park, at eleven. We'll divide the stuff there."

"Alright, I'll-"

"Don't even think of keeping money from that wallet, you hear me?"

"Whoa, just take it easy, man! What kind of criminal do you think I am?"

"Just making sure. Alright, let's go."

And after being there for just a few seconds, they both walked away, turning in different directions when they reached the other side of the street.

As soon as they left, I finally breathed again. It was like my soul was coming back to my body. My muscles released all the tension they were holding. It had been a terrifying experience, especially because my mind couldn't help itself and compared the situation with-

A loud ringtone blasted right next to me, scaring the heck out of me. I was about to instinctively punch the air when I realized it was just my phone. Clyde was calling me.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as I picked up the call.

" _ Lincoln! Where are you?! Are you okay?! I turned around and you were nowhere to be seen! _ "

"I… yeah, sorry, I'm okay."

He let out a relieved sigh. "Where are you?"

I looked around me. "I'm hiding," I said.

Apparently, it was the only thing I was good at.

* * *

When we got home, the first thing we did was to check the list of our daily chores. As always, we divided them between us. Clyde would do the laundry, and I'd vacuum the living room. The house needed to be perfectly clean so our dads wouldn't get a panic attack when they got back from work. As I got everything ready, I decided to leave the TV on a music channel, so I could have some background noise to make the cleaning easier to get through. For several minutes, I systematically went over every square inch of the carpet, doing my best to leave it impeccable. The music was pretty cool, with lots of pop music and the latest trends, but then they started showing trap music. Nothing wrong with it, but our dads didn't like it when we listened to those lyrics.

I started zapping through the channels looking for something entertaining. And if you've been paying attention to my story so far, you probably know what made me stop. Do you? Of course, you do: the local news channel.

Katherine Mulligan was standing on the outsides of a clinic, interviewing a woman in her thirties, blonde, with long, thin hair and dressed casually. The thing that caught my attention was the fact that she was carrying a little girl, also blonde but with shorter hair, cuddled up against the woman's neck, as if she was trying to stay hidden from the cameras.

Oh, and also the big, swollen, black eye on her right.

" _...attacked you? _ " The journalist was asking.

The woman shook her head.

" _ I told the police everything I could remember. I can only wait for them to do their job, now _ ."

" _ What did these men took from you _ ?"

" _ My purse, where I had some cash, my phone, and some work papers, but what hurts the most is that they took my daughter's headphones _ ," said the mother, on the verge of tears, clinging onto the girl. " _ She's deaf without them, she needs them to hear. It's too expensive and I can't afford to buy a new pair. Please, if anyone finds it, or if those men are watching this, I don't care about the stuff you took from me, but they can't do anything with the headphones, please give them back so my daughter can hear her mommy. Please, I'm begging you! _ "

Katherine Mulligan asked for the address anyone could give the headphones back if they found them, and the woman promptly answered her. I couldn't stop looking at the little girl. She looked terrified, vulnerable, disoriented.

" _ Do you think insecurity reigns on Royal Wood's streets nowadays? _ "

The woman sighed, her defeated eyes meeting Katherine's.

" _ Ace Savvy's no longer here to protect us. We regular citizens have lost all hope _ ."

Katherine Mulligan thanked the woman for her time, wished her a quick recovery, and moved on to a short editorial about the exponential increase in crime rates in such a short time. I knew that a big part of it was a kind of hyperbole to create sensationalism… but the truth is that, even so, every new word I heard added a ton to the weight I carried on my shoulders.

If Ace was still alive, maybe those burglars wouldn't have dared to assault someone in plain daylight. If Ace was still alive, maybe he would have been there to stop them. Maybe not, perhaps he couldn't have prevented it, but maybe he could have, and it was my fault that the hope that he would had been taken away for the entire city.

The image of that scared little girl without her headphones would stay with me for the rest of the afternoon as I did all my chores and homework. It was still fresh in my mind when my parents came back, and even though I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Guilt took me, prisoner, weighing down on me as if I was chained to heavy rocks, and I was only able to partially relieve it when I took a decision so crazy and stupid that I had to focus entirely on it to plan out the logistics.

* * *

At home, we always had an early dinner, and we would go to bed around eight or eight-thirty. During our meal, I intentionally mentioned how tired I was feeling, and I faked to agree when my dads suggested that I needed to rest. After washing the dishes, I went straight to my room, changed into my pajamas, and laid down in bed. Clyde followed my steps a few minutes later, and once we turned off the lights, it was just a matter of keeping my eyes closed and pretending to sleep.

After waiting for fifteen or twenty minutes —time moves slower when all you're doing is waiting—, my brother's breathing let me know he was asleep. He was a pretty light sleeper, so ever so carefully, I got out of bed, placing a pillow under my blankets as a decoy.

Turning on my stealth mode, I sneaked out of my room, tip-toeing through the hall as silent as a ghost until I reached the linen closet where we had the access to the attic. My family was extremely organized and tidy, and every corner of our home looked top-notch, although a big part of that had to do with the fact that almost everything that wasn't used daily was stored in the attic. It was some kind of graveyard for decorations and objects that were once useful but had since turned into nothing but dust-gathering figures on forgotten corners. The chaos found in there was the polar opposite of the order and perfection the rest of the house presented. It was as disorganized as forgotten.

Which turned it, naturally, into the perfect place to hide private business.

"I just hope no one ever thinks of picking up some old decorations or anything," I mumbled to myself.

I climbed the small ladder at a turtle's pace, making sure that no wood plank would creak under my weight, giving away my intentions. Once inside, I turned on my phone's flashlight to make sure that I didn't step into any old lamp or box full of magazines that would never be read again.

Forget about the Room of Requirement, if you needed somewhere to hide a Horcrux, just come to my attic.

I soon got to the small table covered in a white blanket, right at the most obscure and remote end of the attic. I turned on a floor lamp that I had previously placed in there, and then I ever so carefully removed the blanket, unveiling my private atelier. It wasn't anything impressive; simply a regular table with some drawers to save my dad's old tailoring tools, but for a kid with cosplay as one of their main hobbies like I was, it was more than perfect. That's where I had confected all the costumes for our Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and it was also where I had been working on my secret project, kept so well as a secret that not even Clyde was aware of it.

Every year, at Royal Wood's local Comic-Con, they would host a cosplay contest. Last year I had tried to participate, but my Ultra Instinct Goku cosplay didn't make it past the first round. I heard people saying that my white dyeing was completely unrealistic. They wouldn't believe me when I told them that it was my natural hair color! I know it's weird and that doctors never found an explanation for it… but it was still very rude of them to call me a liar.

That's why I had spent the last seven months working on my most ambitious project to date. I had invested several allowances and saved up in secret so I could buy all the materials. I had measured my entire body multiple times, and I had even pinched my fingers with pins more times than I'm willing to admit. I spent countless hours locked up in the attic, staying hidden from my brother and dads and taking advantage of every single moment I had the house to myself working on this project. And now… it was finally time to use it.

All the pieces were there, spread on the table: the boots and the bracelets of a dark, almost brownish red. The one-piece spandex suit, of a dull red with a triangular patch of dark red that started on the shoulders and ended up on the sternum. The yellow, rubber belt. The cape of navy fabric.

In short, a hyperrealistic and functional Ace Savvy suit made for me.

Originally, this suit would be my tool to win the cosplay contest, but right then, its mission was going to be a different one. I had thought about it all afternoon, and it seemed like the only right option to redeem myself.

My curiosity and lack of common sense had ended with Ace Savvy's life, taking away from the city its greatest protector and vigilante. It was my fault that everyone had lost hope. And on a crazy, random, chance, my impulsive personality had also taken me to grab a glowing cube and acquire what seemed to be superpowers or at least physical skills comparable to those of the metahumans. The same powers that Ace Savvy had acquired long ago. If my theory was correct, he was just like me, a regular Joe that had walked into a gift. And just like he always said, what made him a hero was having made the decision to use his powers for the greater good. To risk his life every day to help his fellow citizens and try to make the city a bit better, one good deed at a time.

A deaf child had been assaulted right in front of my eyes, and instead of trying to stop the robbers, I ran away to hide. Well, no more. My cowardly had caused way too much pain for others, and I was willing to start rectifying my mistakes.

"Don't worry, kid," I said, as if she was watching me, "I'll take back what they stole from you."

I knew where those criminals would hang, and it was up to me to stop them. In practical terms, I didn't need the suit, but I did need a way to protect my identity if something bad happened, or if any security cam got me.

And speaking of protecting my identity, there was one last element that would work wonders for me. As any cosplay fan knows, hair is one of the most important elements to consider, and unfortunately, my white hair tended to ruin my otherwise perfectly fine cosplays. Ace Savvy wore a red mask that showed his blonde hair, clearly different from my own. Some judges would have been evil enough to automatically disqualify me if I went to a cosplay contest just like that, but I had found a solution: I wouldn't base my cosplay con Ace's current costume —or, well, his last costume—, but instead I would draw inspiration from his original design back in the nineties, which was practically the same, but instead of a mask that simply covered his eyes, he wore a full head one that covered everything but a square that started on his mouth and reached his chin. It was perfect because it wouldn't only hide my hair, it would also make it stand out from all the other Ace Savvy cosplays that would be there. Going for a retro style to look original and different.

And now it would definitely make sure to protect my identity.

Carefully, I undressed until I was only in my underwear, and then I quickly put on, for the first time, my Ace Savvy suit.

"Ugh… these new muscles aren't all that great now that I think about it…"

It was slightly tighter than intended on my shoulders and legs, but the resilient, first-class material was adapting perfectly to my new physique. I stretched out my arms and legs, noting how easily I could move them. Then I put on my bracelets and boots, the belt, and all the accessories that all fit in nicely. The final touch was securing the metallic clips of the cape on my shoulders so it wouldn't come out.

I stood in front of the full-body mirror and admired the result of my work. The reflection staring back at me wasn't that of a defenseless child, scared and confused. What I had in front of me was a hero, ready to correct his mistakes, redeem himself, and bring something back to an innocent child.

"Time to deal out some justice," I said, striking what I thought would be a heroic pose before turning around quick enough for my cape to flourish in the air.

The attic had a small window that led to the roof and our backyard. I would have never dared to go through it, but I was confident in my new dexterity. It was a little bit past nine o clock, which meant I had two hours until the time the criminals had agreed to meet.

That suited me well because I had to make a little logistic stop before the confrontation.

* * *

Knowing the city helped me avoid the busiest streets and move, as much as possible, through the shadows. I was looking for streets with poor illumination, places with lots of trees for me to jump from one to the other, and I even dared to start going through the backyards of all the houses in the neighborhood. I was technically trespassing their properties by jumping over the fences and running through the backyards, so the fastest I did it, the better. I even had to dodge and outrun two guardian dogs, which was a great motivation to run as fast as I could.

I was still on an experimental phase with my new physical aptitudes, so I took that run in the middle of the night to get to know myself better. The first thing I noticed was that running at high speeds didn't seem to get me tired or agitated. It's not like I felt that I could do it forever, but I was surprised that I wasn't showing any symptoms of fatigue.

I decided to test my athletic skills by figuring out how high I could jump. Spoiler alert: I could do it pretty high. At high speeds, I was able to jump high enough to put my hand on the top of the fences and impulse myself forward. On one occasion I even decided to somersault, flipping forward in the air, and I loved the feeling of taking advantage of my jumping momentum and the speed I was running to accelerate my impulse.

I had never felt this happy with my body before.

A new feeling of adrenaline was now invading my veins, making me go faster, jump higher, and move as stealthy as a shadow. It wasn't the emotion of feeling like a hero, or the anxiousness of being about to face two dangerous adults. What guided my steps and ignited a spark within me was feeling a sense of purpose in my actions. I felt it was my responsibility to recover those headphones. It wasn't up to the police, or Nova and Eclipse. It was exclusively my responsibility, and I was willing to do it no matter the cost.

Faster than I would think possible going by feet, I reached my destination: the Spade Manor. Instead of getting in through the front gates, I did it through the backyard. I sneaked my way through the door. During my expeditious retreat the day before, I hadn't even locked the door. I got into the library, moved the red book, and his secret lair was once again at my disposal.

There were many things to check, but time wasn't on my side. I went straight to the case where Ace Savvy displayed all his different decks of utility cards. I picked one of each: regular, smoke, electric, and explosives. The buckles fit my belt, although they seemed quite uncomfortable to carry.

"It must take a while to get used to them."

Having now projectiles at my disposal for range combat, I felt slightly more confident in my inevitable confrontation with the criminals, where I'd demand them to give back what they had stolen. In an ideal case, I wouldn't have to fight them, but if it got down to that, I would rather have something to defend myself. I wasn't thinking of taking anything else, but as I was leaving, I couldn't help but notice a different instrument of justice on another case.

At first glance, it looked like a pistol, but you could see the end of a grappling hook coming out of the barrel, in the shape of an Ace of Spades. This guy was very committed to his branding. Obnoxious, but consistent. It was a fundamental part of his repertoire, a tool thanks to which he was able to climb buildings and get through all sorts of obstacles.

I didn't have the slightest idea of how it worked, but it would be very helpful to get to the park faster while remaining hidden and away from the street level. It was much safer, and I could be jumping from rooftop to rooftop and across the streets without just casually running through the sidewalk. I decided to examine it. I found the safe, the trigger of course, and two buttons, one green, and one red. The green one had the icon of a bullseye over it.

"I guess there's no harm in testing it once."

I went to the living room and set my eyes on the first-floor hall that worked as a sort of balcony to the library. I decided to aim at the balustrade and pressed the green button. As I had assumed, a small laser pointer turned on, helping me aim.

"Please don't explode, please don't explode, please don't explode…"

I pressed the trigger and, had I not been extremely tense, the recoil would have made me take a few steps back. The hook flew through the air, staying connected to the main gun by a thin metal cable. It went over the balustrade, but before slipping out, it secured itself on the floor.

"Alrighty, so I guess I'll just press the red button an— HOLY MOLEY!"

As soon as I pressed the button, it was like someone tried to rip my arm off. I didn't fully understand how that grappling hook gun worked, but an incredible tractive force impulsed me towards the other end of the cable. I flew through the air, and between the threat of my arm getting out of my socket and the disorientation of having lost any sense of support and direction, it took me a second to react. Old Lincoln would have crashed face-first into the wall, but my new reflexes allowed me to analyze the situation, and almost instinctively, I put my body in the right position so my feet would absorb the impact and stop my fall on the first floor.

"Huh… alright, I think I just need a bit of practice," I said, moving my shoulder in circles to make sure it was in the right position. "At least the spandex took it like a champ. I knew my dad's fabrics would be top-notch."

Not wanting to waste any more time, I ventured out of the manor and went straight to my date with fate.

* * *

Hidden on a dense, voluptuous treetop, I waited in silence and still as a stone gargoyle, watching over the city from the top of a gothic cathedral. Getting there hadn't been easy since even at night, some parts of the park were still very well lit. Just a hundred and fifty feet away from my position, a sports court had several teenagers and young adults invested in a game of basketball. Avoiding them had presented itself as a challenge, but I felt invisible as I jumped from one bush to the next, waiting for the right moment to dash.

Stealth check: natural twenty. The best rogue in the history of Dungeons and Dragons.

Between all my gadgets, what I was missing was a clock. The waiting became eternal and quite maddening, but I had no other choice but patiently waiting. They said they would meet in the park's bridge, and there was only one bridge that went over the small creek that ended in the mini-lake of Justice's Park. I could only hope that those two delinquents would keep their word and be organized enough to meet at the time they arranged. It's not like I could do anything if they didn't show up. I didn't know who they were, or where they lived, or how to get to them. I could only wait and stay there to try to get those headphones back.

It took a while, and in one opportunity I got tense when I saw a figure walking to the bridge, but it was just someone walking their dog. At one point I begin to even doubt that they'd show up, but my patience was rewarded, and two figures appeared on each end of the bridge, walking towards each other.

They hadn't even changed their clothes. The bald man with a grey hoodie and the one with a black beanie met in the middle of the bridge, right between two lamps. They looked at each side, making sure that no one was around, and they began whispering and taking out a bag with something inside.

That was the moment of truth. Every inch of me was trembling, but there was no going back now. I thought of Ace Savvy. He would have moved forward, he would have done the right thing. I was faced with one of destiny's crossroads, and the path I chose would define me as a person. Would I be a coward yet another time?

Or would I act like a hero?

Sometimes, all you need is a leap of faith, and that's why I jumped from the branch I was resting on.

I perfectly cushioned my fall, and my cape fluttered so fluidly behind me that I wish I had a camera to record it. My hands were still trembling, and I was starting to sweat under my mask, but I managed my fear as I walked with anxious steps to the small bridge. I stopped thirty feet away from the thieves, who didn't seem to realize I was there yet.

I closed my fists and put them in a jar position on my waist. I spread my legs a big, lifted my chin, and puffed my chest.

Round of surprise.

"H-Hey, you!" I said, embarrassed that I was stuttering.

The two men were taken aback, quickly turning to face me. Their small eyes seemed terrified at first when they saw my suit, but it didn't take long for them to adopt an unfriendly look.

"What the hell are you doing, kid?"

"Didn't you hear? Halloween was over months ago, punk."

"Get lost and leave us alone."

Good, they didn't automatically pull out a gun to shoot me dead. The worst-case scenario hadn't occurred yet.

When they turned, I was able to now look at their hands, and I could see that peeking out of the bag they had, there was the blue purse they had stolen from the woman. It was all the confirmation I needed.

"I'm here to kindly request that you give back the items you stole!" I said, trying to sound confident.

One of them, the one that looked like a fat bull, snorted.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Get out of here before you make me mad, shithead."

I didn't like his insult.

"Oh, so that woman's purse is yours?" I said, pointing at the small object. He tried to hide it inside the bag, but the damage was already done. I felt like being a bit more insolent. "That's so cute. Did your husband buy it for you?"

I made a hand gesture towards the other guy, the bald rhino. They both frowned, and even though part of me was starting to get scared, there was also a tiny bit of me that was satisfied with my improvised teasing.

"Are you trying to get in trouble?!" Said the bald guy, pacing towards me. My whole body got ready. "Get out of here right now before I rip that bucktooth out of your mouth!"

I stood right where I was. Part of my plan was to react more than act. I wasn't sure of how to attack someone, but that day's events had convinced myself that my reaction time and reflexes were superb. If I was lucky, they would be enough.

"You hit a woman, you stole her purse, and you took the headphones of a deaf child," I said, raising my voice, trying to sound ominous. "Give them back so I can take them to who they belong."

"And what will you do if we refuse?" Said the other guy, starting to get closer to me as well.

Roll for initiative.

The bald guy was now just ten feet away from me, and my eyes were quick to read his body language. I noticed his tense fists, his clenched teeth, the way his torso seemed to start leaning to the right.

When he finally stretched his hand to try to grab me by the chest, I was prepared. With a quick flick of my arm, I hit his wrist, deflecting his arm. Taking advantage of that one second of confusion that my action caused him, I jumped in my place to gain a little height, and with my other hand, I grabbed his hoodie, pulling it over his head and allowing gravity to get me to the floor, so my weight and my grip on him made him fall headfirst into the ground. Thinking of all those martial arts movies I had seen over the years, as I was laying down on my back I moved my legs and did some sort of double-kick into the air, using that impulse to arch my spine and get in a squatting position, ready to deal with the other guy as the first one tried to recover.

"You son of a bitch!" Yelled the one with the black beanie, charging at me.

Like an experienced bullfighter, I waited until the last second to dash a step to my left. He tried to punch me, but the new angle messed up with his gravity center, so seizing the opportunity, I palmed his fist, pushed it out of the way so it wouldn't hit me, and at the same time, I kicked him on his supporting leg.

He crashed behind me, his body dragging itself until he was next to his partner, who was only now getting back on his feet.

"Take back the stuff you stole and surrender!" I demanded, looking at them sideways and raising my arms on guard.

They didn't look at me like I was a stupid kid. I could see that in their eyes. The bald one, who I had taken on first, seemed to want to get back to me, probably wanting to punch me in the face this time, but the other guy grabbed his arm.

"Drop it, let's go!"

"The fuck you mean drop it?! He's just a-!"

"He's a metahuman, you idiot! Let's go!"

Pressed by that revelation, the two of them gave me one last, nasty look before they got up and began to run in the opposite direction. In all the different scenarios I had pictured in my head, things would always end up with a fight in the worst-case scenario, or with them surrendering and giving me the stuff in a best-case scenario. I hadn't considered that they would run away from me.

I couldn't let that happen. I chased after them, but even though they looked like two double-door fridges, they moved pretty fast. I didn't seem to be cutting down the distance between them and me. They were moving straight to the court, where people were still playing ball. In an ideal world, no other person should have seen me, but I couldn't let them get in the middle of a chase, or even worse, let them become collateral damage.

We were surrounded by trees, so thinking fast, I grabbed my grappling hook gun from my belt, I aimed, and I shot it. Having done some practice on my way to the park, I was ready to be impulsed. I basically flew right over the two men on the run and managed to get into an advantageous elevated position. I couldn't tell whether they had noticed me or not, but they kept running at the court, passing right beneath me.

I pressed the outside of the green deck, catching the metal card that jumped right into my palm. After some quick mental math, I threw it with all my strength. Unlike the next day, my improved arm managed to get the projectile to cross the air until it impacted the ground right in front of the thieves. The card shattered, releasing a big cloud of smoke that quickly surrounded them. I heard some screams from the guys playing basketball, and the delinquents coughing.

Without further ado, I jumped from the tree and run right into the smokescreen to tackle them down. As I got in it, I could clearly hear someone saying "Ace Savvy?!".

I had to close my eyes to keep the smoke from irritating them and being practically blind I threw a side-kick forward. I was lucky enough to hit someone, and judging by the noise they made, I managed to get them both to trip and fall.

The smoke had helped me gain time and ambush them, but now it was starting to play against me. Covering my face with my cape, I rolled diagonally, escaping the cloud. Once I was back on my feet, I turned around, just in time to see the two men coughing and crawling out of the smoke to get some fresh air. I spotted the bad with the purse inside and, presumably, the headphones, so I dashed towards it. I ducked to grab it, but a big, hairy hand also closed on it at the same time. I tried to pull it out of his grasp, but from the ground, the man kicked me right on my shin.

I had to bite my lip to keep myself from groaning out loud with how sharp the pain was. My leg gave up and I fell on one knee. I had never had a big tolerance to pain, and right then I could see stars dancing around my head. My moment of weakness was the opportunity they were waiting for, and soon the other guy stood up and kicked me right on my ribs. All the air left my lungs and I rolled sideways, coughing and trying to recover.

They must have thought that they had me cornered since they both approached me with the clear intention of beating me down on the ground, but I was quicker. I rolled back just in time to dodge a new kick and stood up. Even with my chest and leg throbbing in pain, I adopted a defensive stand. The bald man threw a punch in my direction, but I simply moved my head to the side to dodge it. Our height difference left me right in front of his unprotected torso, which I immediately punched as hard as I could right in the stomach pit. I heard his gasping and losing his breath, but I had to push him to the left so he would get in between me and his comrade, who tried to get to me as I was busy with someone else. He tossed his partner out of the way and tried to jab me with his left fist. Trying to catch a punch coming from someone three times my weight seemed like suicide, so I just hit the side of his wrist with the back of my hand to divert it away from me. He threw a second punch, and this time I could only cross my arms and take it. My forearm resented the hit and I had to back off a step.

He threw a new punch with the same fist, and this time I didn't feel ready to take it. Instead, I slid right, and with a quick move that I had seen Ace doing countless times, I stretched my leg to kick him right on the side of his knee. He grunted and fell, grabbing the joint I had just hurt, and since he was now at my same height, I decked him right in the jaw.

I could sense the vibrations of his skull back in my fist, and my wrist even resented the impact as I saw him crumbling down, temporarily stunned. I could also hear several cheers of admirations coming from the audience that two minutes ago was simply playing some games late at night with their friends.

I couldn't afford to get distracted, though, since now the guy with the grey hoodie had taken a pocket knife. He deployed it, and the blade shone brightly in the middle of the night as a latent threat to me. I couldn't let him connect a single stab at me, since that would quite possibly be the end of my short life. Part of me started to get a bit desperate, but I wasn't going to let that desperation creep into me and control me.

I waited for him to get closer, and as soon as he started slashing at the air trying to get me, I only managed to retreat and dodge. None of us was an expert in martial arts or street fights, so I deduced that if I decided to wait and not rush into action, I would soon find an opening to counterattack. I was smaller, faster, and more agile, so stalling and waiting for the right time seemed like my best option.

He kept throwing brute attacks in my direction, and I simply dodged them jumping from here to there. At some opportunity, I thought I saw an opening to hit him, but I was afraid of messing it up and ending up dead for a miscalculation. The other guy, the one with the beanie, was just now starting to get up, and I could see from the corner of my eye that he wasn't doing any good, falling over and over to the ground and grabbing his jaw.

Suddenly, the sound of a police siren resonating through the air stopped me and my foe. We both turned just in time to see two police officers coming down from a car, about three hundred feet away from us.

"Oh, fuck!" He said, his eyes filled with terror.

That unexpected distraction was exactly what I needed. All it took was a round kick to his wrist to send the blade flying through the air, leaving him unarmed and defenseless. Knowing that it would take an instant or two for him to recover, I first struck him in his stomach pit to take his breath away, then on his kidneys so he would stoop down in pain, and finally a powerful punch to his nose to get him to fall back, knocked out on the floor.

Just the day before, my fists wouldn't have been able to even tickle someone as buff as he was, but I could sense the strength that each of my punches carried, and it wasn't that of a child. They were potent punches that must have hit like a dry brick.

With one less, there was only the guy with black clothes left. It turned in his direction. He was still on his knees, but now he stared at the police officers coming our way. His eyes set on me, and desperation I saw in them told me that was about to do something either very radical or very stupid.

He put a hand behind his back to reach for something, and when he brought it back, he was carrying a small, black handgun. It looked almost plastic, but I was sure that it wasn't. He started to move his arm in my direction, but I immediately began running in circles, getting away from his aim. I pressed the regular deck, and as soon as I could, I threw a card directly at his right hand.

Having missed my target for a few inches, I'm almost sure I could have accidentally killed that dude. Luckily, my throwing hand was working wonders, and the fine metal sheet hit the exact center of the pistol's muzzle, and the impact was so strong that he was forced to drop it.

Now knowing that this criminal was willing to shoot a kid just to get away with his evil intentions, I dropped any reservation I could have still had within me. I ran straight at him, jumped when I was about two feet away, and I let my knee hit him right in the face with all the speed and momentum I was carrying. I heard a disgusting sound, like when you're playing with a bubble wrap and instead of popping one bubble at a time you roll it up and twist it to get rid of many of them. I even felt a bit of pain in my knee, although it was probably nothing compared to what that guy felt, moaning limply on the floor. His hands didn't seem to be enough to stop the geyser of blood that poured from his nose like a scarlet well.

"Whooooooa! That was AWESOME!"

I turned at all the teens and guys that had been playing basketball. Of course, their game had been completely forgotten, and now they were standing in a semicircle at a prudent distance from where the fight had occurred. To my absolute despair, almost all of them had their phones out, and the bright lights of the flashlight told me that they were recording me.

I felt terrified. I didn't want anyone to ever find out what I had done. The last thing I wanted was that because of any mistake on my part, I would leave any clue behind to guide the authorities into me. Plus, if they had recorded me, they would have evidence that I was using Ace Savvy's decks, and I didn't want any involvement in that.

The cops were still on their way, so I quickly grabbed the bag that the criminals had left behind. I was about to run away, but if I left like that, I was afraid of everyone thinking I was stealing.

I turned to look at the cameras.

"These men assaulted a woman and her child this afternoon," I explained, showing them the purse. "I'm just gonna return this to who it belongs."

Not waiting for a second longer, I grabbed my grappling hook gun and shot at the farthest tree I could see. It was an elegant way to get away from there as fast as possible.

As I was thrown into the air at full speed, I could hear the boys cheering me on. I had memorized the address the woman had given to Katherine Mulligan, so once again, I sneaked my way around town to get there.

My mind was still trying to process everything that had happened. I fought two men! Two dangerous criminals that I had been able to overpower, leaving them in the hands of the police! I'm not gonna lie, now that the adrenaline was starting to die down, I began feeling all the fear I had repressed during the fight. What if something went wrong? What if they punched me in the face and I couldn't react in time? What if the bald guy managed to hit me with the knife? And if the other guy wasn't as stunned and he was able to shoot at me in the act? I could've easily died in that confrontation. It could have been my end, and who would explain that to my dads? Fear was starting to get the best of me, and I had to shake my head to get those thoughts out of my mind.

"It's over, it's done. I survived. Now I just need to deliver this."

It took me a while, but I finally reached my destination. All the lights were off, so I just grabbed the purse, the headphones, put them on top of the bag, and using a piece of paper and a pen that I found in the bag, I wrote a small note.

"I believe this belongs to you."

And just to seem cryptic, I drew a small symbol of an ace of spades as a signature. I rang the bell and ran as fast as I could. By the time I reached the corner of the street, I could hear the sound of a door being open, and that's how I managed to smile back home.

Sneaking through the attic's open window wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be, but I managed to do it just fine. I changed into my pajamas once again and hid my suit along with the gadgets I borrowed from Ace. My original idea was to put them back in Spade's Manor that same night, but truth be told, I was feeling exhausted. My legs, arms, and chest were aching, and I didn't feel like overextending my nightly tour of the city. It was a bit past midnight by the time I silently made my way back into bed.

My whole body was screaming for rest, and when I finally placed my head on the pillow, the only thing I was able to think before falling into a deep slumber was the fact that I had done the right thing.


	5. In for a penny, in for a pounding

Sometimes I feel weird talking about my dreams. I listen to other people telling theirs, and they all seem so normal, so regular, dealing with everyday, common things, pretty straight forward and looking almost like a linear plot. My dreams are nothing like that. They're not about Clyde, my friends and I going to summer camp to play volleyball on the beach, no. I'd be instead dreaming of all of us being chosen by an Elder God to become a patrol of intergalactic heroes, the first group of superheroes to watch over not just our city but the entire Solar System. And I'd have a very long, convoluted dream about our space adventures, ending on an epic, climactic battle against a cosmic whale on the surface of the Sun. That's how ridiculous my dreams tend to be, and as cool as I think they are, I'm lowkey embarrassed about sharing them out loud. I'm afraid of being called childish or immature. So if I don't share my dreams with you often, it's just because they're too weird.

The dream I had after my first night of superhero escapades, however, was completely different, and I think it's worth sharing.

The first odd thing about it was that I wasn't the protagonist of my own dream. I was nowhere to be seen. I didn't identify with a character, I was more of a camera, a moving spectator witnessing a series of images. I'd say it was like watching a movie, but the mirages of my mind were nothing like a movie. It was some kind of anthology of unknown places and random scenarios.

There didn't seem to be any sort of story to follow. Just landscapes, at first. I remember seeing a hill. A soft breeze brushed over tall grass, pushing the soft petals of flowers to detach and dance with the air. The shimmering sun was painting the whole landscape with warm colors, and even if I couldn't see myself on the field, a feeling of peace and relaxation flooded me.

A different part of my dream showed me what seemed to be a creek within a forest. The crackling sound of water splashing against rocks and moving downstream was mixed in with the buzzing of insects and the melodic song of birds at the treetops. Unlike the previous scene, this time the camera seemed to focus on a tiny frog jumping beside the creek. I followed it, watching it hop away, trying to keep my eyes on it. The frog, however, decided to jump onto a small path of rocks that crossed over the creek, getting away. For some reason, my dream seemed to be particularly interested in it, and so the camera moved to follow it.

It felt I was the one jumping, and my dream's point of view suddenly turned into the first person. My foot slipped on the wet surface of a rock, and soon after I was falling into the water. Everything spun around me as I struggled to swim back to the surface. I saw the light reflecting over my head, but the current wouldn't let me reach it. And then, a figure appeared. I couldn't make any details out from under the water, but a hand firmly grabbed me by my clothes and on a quick move, it pulled me out of the water.

The dream changed before I could see the face of whoever had saved me. I was suddenly back into being nothing but a spectator, and the scene playing out in front of me was much different than the rest. It wasn't a peaceful landscape or a beautiful picture of nature. My eyes saw a wooden cabin in the middle of the night, burning up on red, wild flames, like a pillar of fire. Everything was moving around me, and a thundering explosion inside the cabin sent scattered, blazing splints flying all around us, making it look like a firestorm. I could hear someone's staggered breathing, and judging by the speed we were running through trees, I assumed that whoever my dream was showing me was running away from something, or someone.

A child's crying made its way to my ears above all the chaos, and for some reason, I could feel the desperation on his childish voice like I was experiencing it myself. Incoherent yelling of at least two different sources sounded around me, adding to my confusion. And then, a figure walked outside the cabin ruins, walking through the fire and the flames like they had no effect on him. More yelling, more movement, flashes of light all around me, a louder cry; the dream became more and more real with every passing second. More real, and more dangerous. And then the figure in the fire screamed something I couldn't quite understand, and a green beam of light shoot straight out of his position, advancing like a tornado of death, enveloping everything I could see. My eyes hurt just by looking at it, and as I felt being dragged into the source of the energy, the crying and screams turned louder. The light was getting closer, and everything in my life seemed to be reducing itself to that moment, bracing myself for the impact, for that energy to get to me, consuming everything around me, consuming me…

And just then, my phone's ringtone woke me up.

The sound made me sit up right away, immediately aware of the thin layer of cold sweat coating my body and sticking to my pajamas. Just like the previous morning, my superhuman instincts and senses had me alert and with a clear mind, as if I had been up for an hour and not for the last two seconds. Even then, it took me a couple of seconds to take a deep breath and ease the anxiety induced by my dream.

I stretched my hand to grab my phone. I had an incoming call from Jordan, of all people. My mind suddenly remembered that she would be coming to my house in the morning to being our school project.

"Hey, Jordan," I said as I put my phone on speakers, trying to sound casual as I jumped up on my bed, running to my closet to pick up my best clothes.

" _Hey, Lincoln,_ " she said with her angelic voice. " _Did I wake you up?_ "

"Pfft, no, I was finishing my, uh, morning exercises."

" _Is that what boys call it?_ "

I was in the middle of taking my pants off, and the surprise made me trip over myself.

"Is there a reason why you called?" I asked, standing up and picking up my clothes before going to the bathroom to take a shower. It was hard not to sound embarrassed.

" _I just got on the bus, so I'll be there soon_."

"Oh, alright. Cool."

" _I'm letting you know in advance so you can clean up your room_."

"My room is _impeccable_ , Jordan," I told her as I made my way around the mined field that was my floor filled with clothes and blankets.

" _I bet. See ya, Linc!_ "

After hanging up, I glanced around my room. With a grimace, I ran to the bathroom. I had so much work to do.

* * *

When I heard the bell, I threw the broom to the other side of the kitchen, with a bullseye accuracy so it ended up standing right where it belonged. I went to the front door, brushing my still damp hair with my hands and clearing my throat. Once I was convinced that I looked as good as I possibly could, I opened the door.

There she was, her blond mane beaming under the morning sun, with the one single braid resting comfortably over her left shoulder. She was wearing a yellow blouse and black leggings, and there was not a single inch of her body that didn't radiate beauty.

Being in front of her was like standing next to a female Apollo.

"Happy Secret Identity Day," I said to break the ice.

"Happy Secret Identity Day," she replied.

The holiday was one of many that had been instaurated to honor the metahumans. The date commemorated a horrible tragedy, in which the family of Thornhead, one of the most famous heroines at the time, had been murdered by a group of supervillains after some of her personal information was published. After that incident, the International Committee of Metahumans had deemed that the secret identity of a metahuman in good standing was considered to be protected information. As such, it was considered illegal to share, disclose or reveal any personal information of metahumans, who were also not required to reveal their secret identity to police unless they first received a firm conviction in court.

It was a measure that looked to protect the rights of a minority that was so looked after, envied, needed, and hated like the metahumans were. A reminder that heroes risked everything for us, and that the least we could do for them was to reassure them that their private lives wouldn't be invaded or compromised.

Regardless of the tragic story behind it, it was still a date to thank the work of our heroes. It was a holiday, so we had no classes, which allowed me to also thank the fact that Jordan was there with me.

"Huh, you look good," she said, scanning me from head to toes. "I was pretty sure I woke you up."

"Pfft, of course not," I said, trying my best to earn an Oscar nomination. "Come on, breakfast's almost ready."

She smiled, raising her eyebrows and looking impressed.

"Wow, so thoughtful."

Without any more words, she stepped inside, and as soon as I closed the door, I was very aware of the fact that we were alone, with no one else to interrupt us. I dried my sweaty hands on my pants and I walked her into the living room.

" _Mi casa, tu casa_. Be right back."

Making sure that the muffins were at the right temperature before getting them out of the oven and that the chocolate milk was properly shaken, I put my quick, improvised breakfast on a tray and took it to the coffee table in front of the couch where Jordan was sitting.

"It's nothing to write home about," I said, a bit embarrassed, "but I didn't know whether you had breakfast yet or not, and I didn't want to do anything too heavy… Anyway, I hope you like it."

She grabbed a muffin and gave it a soft bite, closing her eyes and chewing with a smile.

"Not bad, not bad," she congratulated me. "You weren't lying when you said you knew how to cook."

"I _never_ lie. Sixty percent of the time, I always tell the truth."

She snickered. "That's not how statistics work."

"Well, I'll be honest and say that statistics aren't my thing."

"You know what? I believe you."

We both smiled, and rather than butterflies, what I felt inside my stomach were raging fireworks. We had always been on good terms, but only since Stella had been transferred into our school and integrated my friend group had Jordan started to spend more time with us. It wasn't usual for just the two of us to be alone, and my mind was already working at full speed to find a way to show her the best of me, to show her that I was a great person and a good kid. I had to demonstrate that I could be responsible, kind, smart, empathic, funny…

I kept a short, casual conversation with her as I finished the details of the plan in my head, and after she finished her glass of chocolate milk and her muffin, I decided to put Operation Show Her That I'm An Excellent Candidate For Boyfriend And Hopefully Ask Her On A Date And Also Think Of A Shorter Name For This Operation into action.

"So, hey—"

"Alright, we've been dancing around it long enough, let's talk about it," she said, interrupting me with a smile on her face and bouncing her knees like she couldn't contain herself.

"Uh… talk about what?"

"Come on, don't play dumb!" She leaned forward, our faces getting closer than I expected. "The new Ace Savvy!"

Any intention of showing myself as a smart person in front of Jordan vanished right away. A mix of surprise and eldritch horror filled my body, and I had to make a conscious effort not to let my jaw drop open.

"What'"

I tried to fake ignorance in case this was all a misunderstanding, and I must have done a good job at it since she looked at me like I was stupid.

"You really haven't seen anything?" She asked, frowning. "It's everywhere! There's a boy that seems to have the same powers and weapons that Ace Savvy did, and last night he jumped onto some thugs with a costume that looks like old school Ace. Everyone's posting stories and tweeting about it. Haven't you checked anything?"

"I-I didn't… I was…"

Cold sweat fell down my temples and back. I knew that the criminals would be interrogated by the police, but I didn't expect people to actually believe them. According to Jordan, however, it seemed like the whole city was talking about my vigilant escapade from last night. That was definitely not what I intended, since being a known hero on Royal Woods was never a good idea. Only the brave and the stupid did it, and I didn't think I belonged to either of those categories.

After a few endless seconds of utter panic, she seemed to pity me, taking out her phone and googling something.

"Check this out," she said, inviting me to sit right next to her.

I would have usually felt quite anxious about being so close to the girl of my dreams, but at that moment, the adrenaline and fear that ran through my veins made me almost forget that I was in love with her. I sat by her side, my heart beating fast, and I could feel the colors leave my face as I read the title of the video: "New Child Ace Savvy DESTROYS Thugs With KICKS and PUNCHES".

And as soon as she hit play, I understood right away where the video had come from. It was clearly a recording from a phone, very amateurish in its quality, blurred, too dark to see clearly, and very shaky. Many people were yelling and screaming, and I recognized them as the dudes that had been playing basketball on the court. They recorded almost the entire fight, although thankfully, they didn't manage to get any incriminatory detail that could give away my secret identity. Still, it was easy to recognize that I was wearing an Ace Savvy costume, fighting two men a few times bigger than me, moving swiftly and striking with precision.

The full video lasted less than two minutes, but Jordan knew right away that I'd want to check it out again, replaying it without even having to ask me. Even in my stunned emotional state, I had to admit that seeing myself fighting was actually really dope. I wasn't close at all to the level of the original Ace Savvy, but no one could look at that video and not think of me as a somewhat competent hero. At least for two minutes.

And that, as cool as it sounded, scared the heck out of me.

"So? Watchu think?" She asked, putting her phone away but staying next to me.

"I… don't know what to say," I admitted, for a thousand thoughts were clashing on my mind, fighting a Battle Royale to see which one of them could get my brain to focus on something.

"Yeah, well, there are some mixed responses," she explained to me, sounding a bit annoyed. "Some people are mad that he took over Ace Savvy's identity so soon. And some say he's too young to be a hero."

"I-I mean, we don't know if he's a hero yet."

"Are you kidding? He tracked down two thugs that stole a deaf kid's headphones, beat them, left them ready for the police, and brought the headphones back its owners! Sounds pretty heroic to me."

"He's a kid. He doesn't look any older than… thirteen or fourteen," I said, deliberately avoiding using our age.

"Yeah… it's dangerous. But I'm sure he knows, and yet he went out to do it. Some say he might be Ace Savvy's son."

"Why would they say that?"

"Uh, his suit? Duh?" She said, pressing her phone on my face. "His movements! He has a grappling hook and his Utility Aces! Maybe he's not his son, but he's likely been trained by him."

I couldn't think of any way to argue against those ideas without compromising my position, so I just had to play along.

"I don't know, Jordan… Just because he was there last night, it doesn't mean he's a hero. What if this was like a one-time thing? No one wants to be a real hero in Royal Woods… I can't imagine a kid taking that risk.

There was no way I was becoming a full-time hero. This had been an isolated incident. I happened to be there when the crime had been committed, and just by mere luck had I been able to listen to their plans. My idea was to simply rectify an act of injustice I hadn't intervened on when presented with the chance. To pay my debt with Ace Savvy by giving a smile back to a family that had been a victim of insecurity.

Going on that mission had been incredibly dangerous. No one had any right to ask me to risk me and my family's integrity. I wasn't a hero, I had no training, no experience, I didn't even have powers until two days ago. It had never been my intention to pretend to be one, and I deeply regretted that many people were getting the wrong idea.

Above everything, it pained me to see Jordan's disappointed face. My words seemed to dishearten her. She let her phone fall on her lap and, dropping her shoulders, she rested against the couch.

"Yeah… maybe you're right," she said, sounding defeated. "I guess one heroic act doesn't mean he's a hero yet."

"I mean, I dunno, I'm just saying we should wait before we… make any expectations about him," I said, trying to empathize with her.

"It's not that I'm getting high expectations or anything… Or, well, yeah, I do. It's just that… ever since Ace died, I've been feeling super anxious and unsafe. My parents are the same. They're even talking about moving out of town."

Hearing those words was like a heavy on my stomach, almost literally bringing me down on the sofa. Not just because the girl I had a big crush on was telling me that she might be moving away, but also because of the terrible fact that it was all my fault.

"I had no idea," I said.

"We don't have any heroes. They don't think we're safe."

"What about Eclipse and Nova?"

"They're the only new heroes we've had in years. And they've said that the only reason why they're doing it is that they were inspired by Ace Savvy. If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't be risking themselves this way. But now he's gone. He can't inspire anyone else. That's why I got so happy when I woke up and saw those videos. I know it's super selfish of me, but… I feel safer knowing that there are heroes out there. Even if I never had to be saved, knowing that normal people like me aren't alone, it gives me hope."

There was nothing I wanted to do more than to comfort her, but her arguments were creating a conflicting tumult of feelings within my heart. She was absolutely right. Ace Savvy was the symbol of hope and peace on Royal Woods. A cursed city where all the heroes died. Except him. He was the incarnation of justice, the personification of the maximum potential that each of us carried inside. His impact on everyone's lives was so much greater than simply the crimes he solved or prevented.

My whole life I had admired heroes not just because of their powers, but also the selflessness of their acts, their will to help others even when it meant risking their own lives. It was truly spectacular thinking that there were people with such strong ideals out there. Knowing that they were out there helped us go on with our days feeling safer.

But it was also a big excuse not to be the best version of ourselves. I'm not saying I'm a scumbag, but I think it's normal for all of us to have a chance of doing a good deed or put someone else's interests before ours, and yet we put our own first. It's easier not to be an exemplary person when you don't have powers.

"Oh, if only I had powers, I would totally be a hero myself!", you'd find yourself saying. And yet, you seldom take the small, little actions that are indeed at your disposal to help others. It's easy to excuse ourselves for not being the best we can be just because we're not metahumans.

All those thoughts were occurring on my mind as Jordan kept playing videos about this new Ace Savvy, as people called me. She showed me several compilations of local influencers reacting to the original video on their social media. I have to admit, hearing their reactions about my performance as a hero was oddly gratifying.

"Look at those movements! That's some Asian Level martial arts!"

"I mean, I'd usually say it's too soon for someone to just go and take on the Ace Savvy mantle, y' know what I'm saying? But this is also, like, sending a message to thugs and shit; don't think you can just do whatever you want in this town."

"How much do you think he lasts as a hero? I give him six months tops. Hopefully, I'm wrong!"

" _YO LOOK AT HIM GO! HELL YEAH BABY, ACE IS BACK!_ "

Eventually, Jordan blocked her phone and left it on the table.

"You look confused."

"I am."

"Me too. I think. Truth is, I feel pretty happy, but I don't know if I should. Do you think it's kind of bad that I want him to be a hero, even though we all know what happens to them?"

"No, not at all," I said right away, not even thinking about the question, just trying to make her feel better.

"Maybe you're right and he only went out as a one-time thing, and now he's trying to go back to have a normal life. Sometimes I feel bad about all the metahumans that have to hide their powers. It can't be easy having them but not being able to use them for fear of something bad happening to you."

"Yeah… imagine having what it takes to change things for the better and not being able to help anyone."

Jordan shrugged and sighed.

"Anyway, there's nothing we can do about it. What we _can_ do," she said, opening up her schoolbag and taking out a pencil and a notebook, "is to define our investigation project. Do you have any ideas? I was thinking we could maybe research the entertainment industry regarding superheroes before and after metahumans appeared. The end of the Bronze Age and all that."

"That sounds amazing. We can study how the stories they told and the powers they gave to heroes changed over time."

"And now they started using parallelisms between real heroes and their comic counterparts to either criticize them or defend them."

"Yeah, and all the legal issues they had! Remember when the House of Ideas sued Kenku for having a suit too similar to Falcon?"

Jordan laughed, writing down that little piece of trivia on her notebook. "So, what do you think? Should we do that?"

"Yeah, sure. I like it."

"Awesome!"

She began writing down several ideas of things to research and study, constantly asking me to make sure that what she was saying was right. Just like all of us elementary schoolers, she had had her fair share of History of Metahumans classes. We always began with Greek demigods, myths, and legends of long ago, and we eventually got to the twentieth century with the publishing of comic books and television series. It was common for all of us to have a certain degree of understanding about this issue, but I had a lowkey obsessive fascination with the subject. I was passionate about comic books, and I think it was safe to say that I knew and remembered much more about them than most kids my age.

Studying metahumans had been one of my biggest hobbies as far as I could remember. Clyde and I idolized them, we had them put on a sacred pedestal where we admired them as inspirational figures. That understanding of the heroes made me fantasize about having powers. I pictured myself becoming a hero and help others. Following Ace Savvy's steps and protect Royal Woods from the forces of chaos and evil. It had always been but a fantasy, wishful thinking that disappeared as soon as I opened my eyes and was once aware of my reality as a regular, powerless, human being.

Right then, my eyes were open though, and that spark kept spreading inside me like a wildfire. It kept growing and growing, feeding off my childish fantasies, the appreciation everyone seemed to show for me on social media, Jordan's words, and most importantly, my own guilt. One good deed may not be enough penance for causing Ace Savvy's death. I had taken far more from the city than that.

I was gonna have to pay that debt.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Harold asked me.

"To the library, to do some research for my school project", I told my dad, putting on a red bike helmet.

"Weren't you and Jordan working on it the whole morning?"

"We picked our subject and we think we have an idea of what the work's gonna be about, but we need to do a lot of research. Our teacher wants us to use citations and quote other books."

My dads looked at each other for a second. "Very well, but be very careful and always look at both sides of the road on your way there, alright? And have your phone ready to call us if you need anything."

"Okay! Tell Clyde that I'll be back to play Dungeons and Dragons. See ya!"

They bid goodbye to me with a hug, and I left my house right away, getting on my bike as soon as I was outside. With my -mostly- empty school bag on the back, I began to ride towards the library. It was amazing how fast I could pedal without getting tired or feeling that I was losing control of where I was going. The wind on my face felt nice and comfortable, easing up my nerves and the adrenaline running through my body.

After a few blocks, and after looking over my shoulder to make sure that my dads hadn't taken out the car to go shopping or whatever, I took a left turn on a corner, deviating from the road they would assume I was taking to go to the library. Because I wasn't going where they thought I was. No, my first stop was far away from the library.

Wayne Avenue, 1939. The manor that once belonged to Nifty Spade, an archeologist in the day, superhero, and symbol of peace in the night.

There were not a lot of houses on the block and it didn't seem like anyone was paying any attention. I decided to take no risks, however. I pressed the insignia he had given to me before he died to open the entry gates, and I pedaled right in. I had never tried going up a set of stairs on a bike, but I managed to do it in a way that felt quick and natural. I reached the door and got in without wasting a single second.

Once inside, I went straight to the central bookcase, pulling the red book on the third shelf. It pivoted in its place, and after a mechanical cacophony of engines turning and moving, the whole room shook like it was hit by an earthquake. The furniture moved away, the walls folded onto themselves, and after a few fascinating seconds, Ace Savvy's secret lair was at my disposal.

I opened my bag and took out my super suit. I changed as fast as I could, and five minutes later, a new hero was ready to go outside and patrol the streets of the city, armed with Ace Savvy's utility decks and skillsets. And most importantly, with a debt to pay.

I went to the living room outside the secret lair, where I found a framed picture of Nifty. His kind smile and bright eyes were staring at me almost like they approved of my decision, or at least that's what I told myself to cope with the guilt that pierced my heart.

"I won't let you down, Ace," I promised to the picture, closing a fist over my chest, making a promise that I would die before breaking.

The only issue was that I had no idea how to begin. How does a hero patrol a city? How to know where crimes would happen? Maybe it was just as easy as running around all over the buildings and hoping to be lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. It also sounded like a very heroic characteristic. Being right where they were needed.

"I guess I could go to the business district", I said out loud. "That's pretty much the heart of the city, the most crowded areas… if something happens, it'll probably be there."

My only concern was trying to find a way to get there, all suited up as Ace Savvy, without anyone noticing me. It wouldn't be as easy as it had been when I did it during the night. Moving through the city would guarantee to catch someone's attention. I stepped closer to the holographic table with Royal Wood's map on it, searching for a path to follow undetected, but it was no use. No matter which street I took, I was risking being seen.

And then, the little bulb over my head turned on. "Who says I have to use the streets?"

With a smile on my face, I paced to the exit, satisfied with my great idea, and ready to start my first patrolling.

* * *

"This is the worst idea I've ever had," I said, coughing and using my cape to cover my nose.

My brilliant idea had been doing what I read many, many heroes do in their comics: to use the sewer systems as underground routes to get to places without risking being seen. I only had to go to the manhole cover outside Ace's manor, lift it with my enhanced strength, and boom; I was hidden from society's view. Of course, there was a very good reason why no one ever went into the sewers.

They were disgusting.

Trying to breathe as little as possible and actively not look into the river of polluted water that streamed between two paths, I moved onward through the tunnels, guiding myself and calculating distances by looking at the exits that appeared regularly.

I'd never been in a labyrinth before, but the spiderweb-like red of city sewers managed to disorient me and confuse me just like I assumed a labyrinth would. All the secondary paths, crossroads, and hard turns seemed to show up more and more often the more I walked away from the manor. My keen mind, however, seemed much sharper than usual, and I was able to orientate myself.

Eventually, if my mental math wasn't failing me, I calculated I had traveled enough to get to the heart of the city. I found a thin, metal staircase that led to the sewer's exit. Once I climbed up there, I pushed the manhole cover an inch open. I looked at my surroundings, noticing but a couple of people walking by the sidewalks. I patiently waited for them to walk away and have their back against me before fully pushing the cover away and carefully venture out the sewers. I was able to recognize one of the buildings by a publicity sign they had on the roof. I had, indeed, reached a very active part of town. A perfect time to look for trouble.

Acting fast, I took Ace Savvy's grappling-hook gun and managed to shoot it with pinpoint accuracy for it to secure itself at a building's ledge. Bracing myself for the upcoming whiplash effect, I pressed the red button, catapulting myself through the airs towards my destination. At the very last second, I stretched my legs and gave myself one last push at the wall to rise beyond the edge and falling on my feet at the roof, my cape dramatically following the motion behind me.

Being a superhero was like having my very own Paladin aura. _Aura of Coolness: Starting at 6th level, you may add a bonus to your Looking Badass Checks equal to your proficiency bonus_. I could even fall with style.

Once I was already at the roof, I placed a foot on the corner, and my cape fluttered with the wind. Staring down at the city like a gargoyle, I began scanning the area, watching pedestrians and cars making their way through the streets. Every single person I saw, unbeknownst to them, was now under my protection, and I wouldn't let anything happen to them. I kept my watch there, at the ready to act upon whatever crime dared occur beneath me.

So I patiently waited, ready to strike at the first call for help. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited.

After one and a half hours, my cool heroic pose was completely undone. I was laying down face up, one leg hanging on the side of the ledge, as I stared at the clouds and tried my best to find one that looked as pretty as Jordan. Patrolling was not what I had expected. Had I tackled it the wrong way? Should I be moving around town, or was I correct in standing next to a busy place, seeing everything from the heights, waiting to jump into action?

"I should've brought my phone," I lamented. "I could be checking the news in real-time. Or at least I could watch some videos to kill time. I could even be working on my school project. I need to do my best there, I have to show her that I'm an excellent partner and smart enough to get a great grade. If I can impress her, then maybe I could ask her o—"

" _STOP HIM!_ "

The sudden yelling startled me. I snorted, slightly annoyed. People could be very rude sometimes, screaming and interrupting my soliloquies right when—

When my mind finally realized what was going on, I jumped straight up and took a look at the street beneath. Some people seemed to be throwing themselves aside as a man sprinted past them, bumping into and shoving anyone that got in his way. He was carrying something in his hand, a wallet maybe, I couldn't tell from the distance. A second man was running after him, a good distance between them.

"Stop him! He stole my phone!"

That was my chance. My second thievery to solve within twenty-four hours. Shaking with anxiety and emotion, I watched the criminal turning on the corner. I began running to the other side of the roof I was standing on, looking to intercept him before he got away. I ran at the center of the block and jumped out of the building as far as I could go, launching myself comfortably over fifteen feet in the air. Taking advantage of my momentum, I triggered my grappling-hook, and not an instant later I was reaching the building in front of me. I put the gun back on my utility belt and peeked over this new ledge. The criminal was running to my position. He'd be right underneath me in a few seconds.

I calculated the distance. I was about fifty feet up, and even though there was nothing I wanted more than starting my career as a vigilante with a superhero landing, the truth is that I wasn't sure that my knees would be able to take such a long fall. I definitely didn't want to introduce myself to the world by breaking my legs trying to stop a common thug from stealing a phone.

Using my cunning to quickly analyze the situation, I formulated a plan. It's hard to explain how my mind did all the physics calculations to know that it would work; I just felt that I could do it. So I jumped towards the street light in front of me at the same time that one of my hands pressed the insignia on the Green Aces deck. As soon as I reached the light, I slid down like it was a firefighter pole, and once I felt I was at a safe height, I threw the Ace to the ground while I jumped once again, finding an empty spot on the sidewalk where I wouldn't crush anyone.

As soon as the Ace hit the ground, the card shattered and released a cloud of smoke, startling the pedestrians and the thief. The smokescreen expanded quickly and wide enough to conceal my entrance, or at least just teasing a shadow that fell from the sky right in front of them, cornering the criminal and interrupting his flight.

I heard exclamations of surprise and even fear, probably because of the sudden explosion of the card that caught everyone off guard. I decided to stay silent, and taking advantage of the few seconds that the smokescreen stood in place before it dissipated, I rearranged my pose to make it look like I had done a proper superhero landing.

A few seconds later, the soft breeze cleared the cloud of smoke, revealing myself to the common citizens.

"It's him!"

"It's the kid!"

"A hero!"

"Why does he smell like a sewer?"

All the exclamations from both sides of the sidewalk mixed up on a euphoric symphony of admiration and surprise. I looked up, meeting the eyes of the delinquent for the first time, realizing he was only about fifteen feet away from me. He was a young man, probably in his mid-twenties. He was wearing sports clothes, like he was coming right from the gym, with a tight tank top that showed off his well-toned arms. He gave the impression of being a very athletic person, the kind of person you don't want to anger.

The guy stopped dead on his tracks, his sports shoes squealing with his sudden halt. He eyed me up, studying me and, I believed, trying to discern whether I was a real hero or just a stupid kid with a costume. I had to assume that he had probably seen me on the news, but who knows. Maybe he was stealing a phone cause he had no internet to watch videos or read the news.

Time stood still as we glared at each other, like a Far West stare off, gauging each other and waiting for the other to make the first move. I assumed that being the hero, that was probably something that I had to own and take care of, so I stood up, spreading my legs and puffing my chest out, putting my hands on my hips, trying to look bigger and more intimidating than I really was. I was also hoping to look like Ace Savvy, but even I knew that wouldn't be possible. Ace was almost six feet five, and I was still just a kid.

I couldn't inspire the same respect that he did with my physicality… but I thought I had studied Ace and knew him enough to be able to make a respectable impression of his charisma and the kind of phrases he would say.

"I see you're in a hurry," I said, smiling and trying to hide how anxious I really was. "Missed a bus stop?"

He seemed tense, and he took a shy step back. I sensed certain caution and a bit of fear, so I tried to capitalize on the moment and, hopefully, avoid a confrontation.

"Or maybe you just needed to make a very urgent call," I offered, letting my arms swing by my side as I tentatively took a step forward. "Is that why you borrowed that man's phone?"

"Get lost, twerp, this is none of your business," he told me with disdain, although his body language kept informing me of certain reluctance like he wasn't feeling as brave as he presented himself. That made two of us.

"Maybe you just had a bad day," I said, extending an open hand. "I get it, we all make mistakes. Just give me the phone and avoid making another one."

Persuasion check. Or was it intimidation? Up to the DM, I guess.

Behind him, I finally saw the owner of the phone, catching up to the immobile ruffian. The angry look on the man's face was immediately turned into a dumbfounded one the moment he saw me, and I was pretty sure that the thing he hated the most about not having his phone with him was the fact that he couldn't take a picture of me.

I could see in the eyes of the thug that he was reviewing his current situation. Maybe he thought he could get away if he ran fast enough before I could react, but he was also surrounded by a group of people that stared at us like we were some kind of street show. And, of course, he was still trying to figure out what my deal was. He might have sensed that I was willing to stop him at any cost.

If he did, he seemed to try to challenge the notion, though.

"Stop pretending. We know you're no hero. You're not fooling anyone!"

I clenched my fists, pursed my lips, and threw furtive looks at the adults around me. They all had their eyes on me, waiting for my response. Were they thinking the same thing this guy was? Were they wondering whether I really was someone worth calling a hero?

"We'll see about that," I said out loud without even realizing it. I took a step forward and slightly turned my torso to the side, getting ready to defend myself if he attacked, or to sprint forward if he didn't give up.

I think it's fair to say that was a mistake on my part that can be attributed to my inexperience. Maybe the change in my posture came out as very aggressive since the guy didn't waste a single second in throwing at me the only thing he had on his hands: the phone he had been trying to steal. He clearly had a pretty strong arm, since the phone flew through the airs at a tremendous speed, but unfortunately, its forcefulness lacked accuracy, and the phone was heading straight into a collision to the concrete ground at my right.

At that moment, my reflexes and instincts kicked into their highest degree, and I leaped to the side with a bit of a tumble in mind. My left hand got to the ground first, supporting the rest of my body as I lifted it almost vertically and made a hundred and eighty degrees turn. With my free hand, I managed to catch the phone -what an expensive phone it was, by the way- and I took advantage of the spinning motion I was in to give my arm enough room to arc out and cushion the phone, leaving it intact.

My dexterity demonstration was accompanied by the swift, beautiful dance of my cape, which followed me as I used my left hand to push me back on my feet.

"Stop him!"

It had only taken me a couple of seconds to catch it, but the delinquent had seized the moment to attempt to flee. The phone's owner and another man from the audience tried to stop him, perhaps acting out of a heroic vocation, or maybe just because they wanted to look brave in front of a kid hero. One could say that maybe my presence was inspiring them, a thought that warmed up my heart.

The same heart that almost stopped when I witnessed the thief landing a nasty jab right on one of the man's jaw, the thud echoing in my ears as I saw him stumble to the street, where a car was driving with no time to react or stop.

Once again, my body reacted faster than my mind, being in an alert state of adrenaline that I had never experienced before.

With the cellphone firmly gripped in my hand, I rushed at breakneck speed to the poor man, rushing through the air like a red dart. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I saw him trying to keep balance and not fall, which was ironically making him stumble farther and farther away into the street, where the car kept going unaware of what was about to happen. No one around me managed to react at all, and I even had to waste some precious instants into dodging a few people not to bump into them.

At last, the man's feet slipped on the curb, being the last push he needed to break his balance and trigger his inevitable fall into the path the car was taking. I had already gotten close to him, so in the last effort, I dived forward to gain the last few inches I needed. I stretched my arm as far as it would go, reaching with my fingers to grab him by his shirt or blazer… but I wasn't fast enough, and he slipped past my hand.

I was frozen in time for some eternal moments in which I absorbed everything around me like my brain was a supercomputer processing an ungodly amount of data, searching for something, a solution, a chance. The car was driving closer. The innocent citizen, who looked suspended in the air to my stunned eyes, had his mouth open and his eyes closed, flinching from the blow he had received. I couldn't let him suffer an accident. Not on my watch. I couldn't let him get hurt. There had to be something I could do, something to hold on to…

And that's when, in a flash of inspiration, I realized that his tie was wavering away from the rest of his torso due to the inertia of his fall. What I had in mind would probably hurt a little, but between a bruise on his neck and being run over by a car, I wanted to believe that he'd forgive me. With one last, quick, desperate move, my wrist whipped up to wrap my hand around his tie, immediately pulling him to me.

Just as if he had been holding Ace's grappling-hook gun, the man was pulled back into the sidewalk, with the car speeding right where he would've fallen but a second later. We both fell on the ground, as the people around us gasped, many of them only now realizing what I had avoided. I allowed myself one deep breath, thanking my new powers for being able to react so fast.

I could never forgive myself if I had failed.

That incident though made something clear to me: real people were in real danger, and I couldn't allow myself to put any other innocent person in danger. I had tried to negotiate and resolve the issue without a confrontation, but now I was set on neutralizing the threat as soon as possible to avoid collateral damage.

With a move worthy of being used in the finals of the Breakdance World Cup, my legs spun like the blades of a helicopter and propelled me back on my feet. Although a lot had happened inside my mind, in real-time no more than a few seconds had passed, and I could find the thug right away, making his run right from where he came.

Feeling like a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I began my chase after him, moving like a lightning bolt as everyone around me cheered me on.

"Good job!"

"Keep it up!"

I passed next to the phone's owner and I gave it to him in his hand. He was too surprised to react, and he almost let it drop to the ground.

"Go get him, Ace!" He said, finally.

I could almost feel the people's support fueling me, turning into motivation and energy for my legs to move faster, almost gliding through the sidewalk. With my eyes set on the target, this time I knew I couldn't make a single mistake. A new determination was blossoming inside me, the understanding that it was my responsibility to protect and look after every single person in this city. I was to be their new hero, their protector. The beacon of light in this dark night of uncertainty we were all living in.

The guy took a glance over his shoulder, his eyes meeting mine.

"You have the right to remain silent!" I yelled at him, hoping for cool heads to prevail and for him to stop so we could talk about this.

He didn't.

As we ran through the blocks, new persons from both sidewalks appeared, and they all stopped on their tracks to point at me and make sure their eyes weren't deceiving them.

During the chase, I felt invincible, like an unstoppable force that could not be slowed down. He tried to distract me, to stop me. As soon as he ran into a trashcan, he quickly grabbed it with both arms and threw it at me, doing his best Donkey Kong impression. The can, pretty loaded by the way, flew a few feet before bouncing on the ground and into me.

I don't know what he was thinking, but I had no issue at all doing a summersault to dodge it, even allowing myself to stretch my hand, grab the can by the edge, stop it, and use the rest of my movement to leave it standing.

"Woohoo! Yeah! That's what I'm talking 'bout!" Celebrated the pedestrians, making me smile for a second before I frowned.

Stealing a phone? Yeah, sure, that's a crime, but the kind of crime you could maybe understand if someone needed money to feed their family. Littering on the streets, though? That was an unforgivable offense.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you!" I said, reacting before he did and reducing the distance between us significantly. "You have the right to have a lawyer!"

"Shut up!" He screamed, resuming his race to get away from me.

I stopped reminding him of his rights, but not because he said so! Honestly, I only knew up to that part. Was it the job of a superhero to learn about laws and rights, or could I get away with not studying it?

I would have time to figure out the academic requirements of this new career path. Right now, the important thing was that my objective had decided to jaywalk in the middle of the street, getting furious honks as a response and forcing several cars to slow down to avoid hitting him. Not wanting to add to the traffic, I used my favorite gadget once again to grapple a streetlight and cross to the other side of the road through the air.

Once I let go and hit the ground, the distance between him and me had significantly decreased, and at that precise moment, there was nothing in the way. I had fifty feet to take a clear shot.

"Time to end this," I mumbled, activating the Blue Deck.

A shining Ace with its symbol and the edges colored with an electric blue jumped into my hand. I began pressing the central insignia, and the more I did it, a small buzzing sound kept ringing sharper and sharper with each passing second. I waited until I could start feeling a tickling sensation on the tip of my fingers before drawing my arm back and then doing a whip-like motion to shoot the card on a fast, powerful, precise, and straight trajectory.

It pierced the air as it buzzed like a drone, finally hitting its target and planting itself on the young man's back. The moment contact was made, the card released the electric charge it had been building up, paralyzing him in the middle of his run and making him fall as stiff as if he had been hit with a taser.

Satisfied with my throwing skills, I approached him. He was trying to get back on his feet, but his muscles were still numb by the electric shock. When Ace used it, his targets usually stayed paralyzed for at least a minute. Had I charged it too short or was there a better nervous point to hit them at?

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be," I warned him, trying to sound serene.

Recovering faster than I thought he could, he stood up and turned around trying to punch me. I merely took a step to the side to dodge it. I grabbed him by the wrist and twisted his arm with a quick, solid movement, unbalancing his center of gravity. Taking advantage of his awkward position, I barely needed a low sweep kick to send him on an excruciating fall on his back.

"Ugh!"

He tried to stand up again, but I placed a foot on his chest, looking dead serious. "It's over. Don't make me knock you out," I warned him.

Between the people that had just been minding their own business on that very street and some other that had been following me, there was once again a small gathering of spectators watching us. And just like Fate was smiling down at me for the first time in a while, a police siren roared for a second near us, and soon two officers were approaching us, guns in hand.

The criminal seemed to realize his situation, and after trying to shift in place but being stopped by the pressure my foot was applying on his chest, he finally gave up. He leered at me dumbstruck, and he seemed genuinely confused.

"You're crazy, kid," he told me, and there was real worrisome on his voice. "What are you doing trying to be a hero? Don't you know no one ever gets to live in Royal Woods?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why are you doing this?"

I glanced around me. The police officers were getting closer to us, astonished by my presence. The rest of the citizens had their phones out, taking pictures and recording videos. I saw their expressions of wonder. Their evident enthusiasm. I cherished the fact that they were willing to put a stop to whatever they were doing or wherever they were going just to take a look at me. But above everything else, I rejoiced in their smiles, the spark in their eyes.

Why was I doing this, they asked me? I knew exactly what Ace Savvy would say. What he had said, in fact, in one of my favorite interviews of him of all time.

"Because I can. And as long as I can, that'll be my life's purpose," I replied.

"What is going on?" Ask an officer, her gun pointing at the ground.

"I stopped him from robbing in broad daylight."

"And I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for this twerp and his fantasies of becoming a hero!"

Shooting one last glare at him, I moved my foot from his chest, and I decided to pick up the blue Ace from the floor. Nifty Spades might have been a little less careful about not leaving his used ammo, but I had a limited supply of them, and I didn't feel that I could just use them like throwaway items.

"Kid… who are you?" Asked the second police officer.

Of course, he wasn't talking about my secret identity. Not on Secret Identity Day of all days. He was just looking for a confirmation of what everyone was assuming, what everyone wanted to hear.

Well, I was willing to give it to them.

"I'm Ace," I said, smiling and grabbing my grappling-hook. "Ace Savvy."

And without further ado, I shot up and was rapidly pulled up into the nearest rooftop, leaving everyone behind me. I heard many of them starting to cheer me and celebrate my departure. Once I got to the rooftop and I was sure that no one could see me, my legs finally gave up, turning into jelly and making me rest on my back, staring at the sky. When I sighed my stress out, it looked like I had been holding my breath for an hour.

"I can't believe it," I said with a trail of voice. "I stopped a crime!"

I laid there, listening to the conversations that were occurring on the street. Everyone talking to each other, calling their friends and relatives, sharing what they had just seen. It was music to my ears, and I couldn't help but keep a goofy smile on my face even as I heard the police officers arguing with the thief.

" _You have the right to remain silent, anything you—_ "

" _Stop reading me my rights!_ "


	6. Being an anonymous celebrity is dope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to take a minute to give a BIG shoutout to my friend TheSiegePerilous. He's been somewhat interested in this little universe I'm working on, and the setting sparked his imagination enough to write two stories that could have taken place in this continuity. They're not precisely canonical, but if you read them, it's definitely something that could have happened in this story under the right circumstances. So yeah, if you like this story, go check those one-shots out!

Once I had recovered from the emotional weathering of participating in my first official intervention as a superhero, I found myself navigating an ocean of euphoria and adrenaline that I had never experienced. I felt like I was on top of the world. My mind couldn't stop recreating the smiles of the citizens, the clear and obvious happiness that I had made them feel. But not only did I feel impossibly proud of the reactions I got. More than anything, I felt good about myself. Proud of what I had accomplished.

Ever since the fateful night in which Ace Savvy had lost his life before my eyes, I felt like I had been carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. A self-imposed penance that oppressed me both physically and emotionally. Now, however and for the first time, I felt that I was doing everything in my power to honor and respect Ace Savvy's legacy. I could never be as good of a hero as he had been, but I would give my best, and that's as much as I could offer.

My original idea hadn't been to use Ace Savvy's suit as a way of taking on the mantle. It had simply been the first thing I had at hand to protect my identity. After the small talk I had with Jordan, though, the idea had rooted itself deep in my mind, and the more I thought about it, the more I managed to convince myself that it was the right thing. Ace Savvy was more than a hero, he was a symbol. Royal Woods needed him, and even if I couldn't rise to the challenge and reach the high bar he har set, I would give my everything to live up to his legacy. I was his biggest fan, I had acquired his same powers, and his death was a heavy toll on my conscience. I carried no doubt: I was the best option to take on the mantle.

Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps I was the worst possible option. Too young. Impulsive. With no experience. I could see the point of anyone who had any reservations in accepting me as a hero, and even those who outright wouldn't like me at all. The only option I had was to give my best, make the best decisions I could, and try to prove to everyone —myself included— that I was up to the task.

" _The possibility of doing good is the great superpower that all of us, metahumans or not, carry within us. Our actions and our will to do good is what defines us, more so than our capabilities_."

Ace Savvy believed that the vocation to help others was more important than being a metahuman or not. And well, I was certainly ready to give it all to be the new symbol of peace and hope in our city. A symbol… yeah, I liked the sound of it. And to become a symbol, I needed to show myself. Let the people know and see that someone was watching over them.

That's why, after solving my first crime in the day, I kept patrolling, this time jumping from one rooftop to the next, crossing between buildings and streets to cover a bigger perimeter and expand the area under my watch.

I didn't have the opportunity to witness another crime or any illegal activity —which was good news all things considered—, but that didn't keep me from helping regular citizens in their usual activities. Going on my idea of bringing the smiles and happiness back to the beaten-down people of my town, I decided to stop by on several occasions and jump down the street to give a hand to anyone who would need it. Even if some of the things I helped with were pretty small all things considered in the universal balance of reality.

Funny enough, my first task after stopping a crime was a great cliché of television and superhero movies: a cat trapped at the top of a tree. I was just passing by a low building's rooftop when I heard a kid crying. Peeking from above, I saw a small kid watching helplessly how a woman was trying to climb up a stair, calling for a cat that, sitting on a faraway branch, had no intention of walking closer to her.

With a smile on my face, I jumped from the ledge towards a light post next to the tree.

"Need some help?" I said as I got into position, waving my hand on a friendly "hello" gesture.

The woman, the kid, and a few pedestrians that were passing by stopped to stare, gasping and pointing incredulous fingers at me. The child's crying stopped right away, and they all stood mouth agape, stunned, making no sound at all.

"Don't worry, I got this," I assured them, balancing on the post before jumping towards a branch wide enough to resist my weight. Some small branches scraped me, but my suit's material was top-notch quality, it wouldn't break as easily. I moved through the tree like it was my natural habitat, swiftly reaching the branch where the feline was trapped. It was a very young cat, or at the very least from a tiny race since they didn't seem to be bigger than my forearm. Their fur was fluffy and looked like a small wheat ball.

"Come 'ere, kitty, kitty," I called them, putting on the same silly voice I used to speak to babies. "Come on, who's a good kitty? Who's a—?"

Suddenly, the cat's spine arched up, the fur on their back standing straight within a second, and they let out a violent hiss that made them look like a starving King Cobra about to murder a chubby rodent that had previously insulted the reptile's mother.

"Kitty?" I cautiously asked, stopping in my tracks. Their pupils got smaller, their claws came out, and I barely had time to curse to myself before the cat jumped at me.

"AAAGH!" I yelled, catching them in the middle of the air, but that only seemed to piss them off. They started twisting around like a knife collection possessed by the vengeful spirit of a bloodlust tornado.

"Whiskers, no!" The kid screamed from the sidewalk, but the beast in my hands was beyond reasoning. I tried releasing a bit of my grip to turn them around, but the bastard took the chance to jump at me once again.

The surprise and the sudden assault were enough to make me slip from the brach, and suddenly the world was upside down as I headed to the floor —which was now my roof. The kitty seemed to comprehend that things weren't good anymore, and in a second their mouth stopped foaming and they stared at me with kind, gentle eyes.

I frowned, not at all buying their good pet act, but I was a Hero in action and I couldn't let anything happen to them. So in one swift move, I wrapped my arms around them and turned my body around, falling safely into a squatting position, cushioning the impact and coming out of it harmlessly.

"Whiskers!" The kid said with a big smile, running to me and snatching the Tasmanian Devil out of my grasp, which now looked calm and placid. "You're alright!"

He squeezed it as hard as he could, closing his arms around the animal-like he was about to do a suplex to it. I could now understand the cat a bit more. After a few seconds, the little boy turned to look at me with a big, toothy smile.

"You were awesome!" He said, trying to get as much of me into his eyes as possible. "Are you really a hero?"

"Whatchu think? Do I look like one?" I asked, standing up with my back straight and my arms resting on my waist.

"Yeah!"

"Well, there you go; I'm the new Ace Savvy."

"But you're a kid," he said, tilting his head. "Aren't you scared?"

The brutal honesty of the question took me by surprise. I didn't expect having to answer such a blunt question. I let a few seconds go by as I carefully picked my words, trying to gauge what a hero should answer at such a question, especially when made by a little kid. I ended up assuming that being honest was probably the safest, best approach.

"Of course I am," I admitted. "I'm very scared. But Ace Savvy wouldn't let fear win against him. If I want to help others, I need to be brave enough to overcome fear and act whenever and wherever I'm needed!"

My response seemed to be of his satisfaction since he immediately asked his mom to take a picture of us together, and I couldn't say no. I didn't say no either to the mother that also wanted a picture of me, nor did I deny another picture to the owner of the store we were standing outside of, or when more people started to approach me from both sides of the sidewalk.

I spent one or two more hours patrolling, involving myself in small, everyday actions to help people. Was an elder man trying to cross the street but no one helped him? That was a job for Ace Savvy. Did someone need help to lift the back of their car to change a tire? Perfect opportunity to test my strength.

Turns out I was pretty strong.

After many selfies, receiving cheers from people, and thanks from those I helped, I realized that I had been out for a long time, and it was likely that my friends would be arriving soon to my home to play Dungeons and Dragons. I couldn't be late for it; my friends would kill me for missing it, and then my parents would kill me again for coming home late.

All things considered, I could confidently say that my first afternoon as an official superhero had been more than positive.

* * *

Fortunately, I managed to get home with time to spare. Enough time to take a shower, get some snacks ready, clean my room, and hide in my attic not only my suit but also the utility decks and the grappling hook gun that had been so useful to me. I had even brought some spare decks with me, not wanting to keep going to the manor for logistic stops, which might end up raising unwanted suspicion.

When I got to my house, Clyde was already there, and I spoke with him and my parents about this "new Ace Savvy". But I also had some conversations about it with my friends, so to avoid being redundant, allow me to skip straight to the point when Stella, Liam, Zach, Rusty, and Jordan joined us, all with smiles on their faces and very excited to talk as we got everything ready in our basement.

"He's everywhere!" Said Liam, walking in circles around the table where Stella was placing her maps and miniatures. He seemed to be too pumped to stay still in one place.

"Everyone's talking about him," added Rusty, checking his phone with the biggest, most honest smile I had ever seen on him. "He spent the whole afternoon helping people. He rescued a cat from a tree! _A cat from a tree!_ "

"Look at all the pictures they took of him," Zach said, showing us his phone screen, scrolling to what seemed to be a gallery made by a website, compiling most of the selfies people had taken with me and that they had uploaded to social media.

"I can't believe this is true", said Clyde, pinching his arm to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "I thought poor Nova and Eclipse would have to carry the burden of being the only heroes in town, but after only a few days someone else has already taken on the Ace Savvy mantle! That's just what we needed!"

He turned to look at me, knowing that Ace was my biggest idol just the same way it was for him. Up until that moment, I had stayed mostly quiet, trying to take in all the reactions my friends were having at my first steps as an anonymous hero, but I couldn't just stand there and not say anything. It would look kinda sus.

"Well, obviously he's barely getting started, and he clearly doesn't measure up against OG Ace Savvy," I said, not wanting my best friends to start getting some crazy high expectations for me, "but I think he's doing the right thing! Whoever he is, he knows we're all still mourning for Ace, but we needed a sign to start getting out of our sorrow, right?"

"Exactly!" Stella said, placing her dungeon master screen to hide her dice and notes. "Some people are complaining online that it's disrespectful for him to take Ace Savvy's name, that he should've chosen something else, but they're just trolls. How many Captain Marvel's have we had?"

"Besides, I think he's sending a message," Jordan added. "I don't think it's a coincidence that he picked up Ace Savvy as his identity. I think he's doing it to make a point, to let us all know that even though the original Ace is gone, his legacy is still alive. In him… but also with us."

We all stayed in silence, staring at Jordan and reflecting on her words. I'm not even gonna lie, I felt my eyes starting to water up, and I had to hold my breath to keep a tear from falling. The fact that she, of all people, perfectly understood the reasons why I had become a hero made me stupidly happy.

Speaking of happiness, Jordan then turned to look straight at me with a smirk on her face and raising an eyebrow. "Ready to admit that he's a hero?"

I smiled and shrugged.

"You convinced me," I said, relishing the fact that no one in the room understood the double entendre.

* * *

We kept talking about my alter ego for a while until we remembered we had a DnD session to play. Stella seemed very excited to run it, and we soon found out what she had planned. The first part of the session was a one-on-one between me and the DM following the fate of Silver Edge, my paladin that had seemingly sacrificed himself by cutting a rope bridge to keep a bunch of monsters from reaching the rest of the party.

In summary, at the bottom of the cliff was a river that dragged all the monsters away from the scene, but my character had been caught by a giant spiderweb that belonged to none other than Aracne, the Queen of all Spiders. And what followed was an incredibly tense and complicated act of negotiation. The fact that in the previous session we had slain a cave filled with giant spiders was not helping with Aracne's mood. However, by staying calm, roleplaying with Silver Edge's honesty and honor code, and thanks to a clutch roll adding Jordan's bardic inspiration, I managed to step out of the encounter victorious.

Aracne didn't kill my character, and under the promise that Silver Edge would help lift the curse that reigned over the spider's lands, she not only let me go but also used her primal magic to teach me the _Spider Climb_ spell, which allowed me to get out of the cliff and join the rest of the party. The session continued normally, but the fun and enjoyment we all got out of it were out of this world.

"You outdid yourself," I told Stella as soon as we were over.

"That was AMAZING, Stella! You should write a book with all the awesome ideas that you have!" Zach added.

She told us that we were all exaggerating, but the soft blush on her cheeks and the smile on her face let us know how much she appreciated the compliments. And she had definitely earned them.

"Don't I get any congratulations?" Jordan said to me a little later, while the rest of our friends were busy talking among themselves.

"What do you mean?"

"Circe gave you the bardic inspiration. If she hadn't done so, you would have failed your persuasion check."

My first instinct was to believe that she was joking, but that her joke was hiding a certain degree of truth. Which made me very worried, since the last thing I wanted was for the girl I liked to feel that I didn't appreciate her enough. But then, perhaps due to my new perception, or maybe because I was starting to know Jordan better than before, I had a much bigger and important revelation: she wasn't mad.

She was _jealous_.

That revelation hit me like a firetruck. I stood silent for a few seconds before activating my charming mode.

"Definitely. Believe me, Silver Edge hasn't forgotten," I assured her, waiting a bit before adding "In fact, I think he's considering returning that kiss on the cheek next time he cures her."

Jordan's fake anger act fell immediately, and she smiled. Not confidently and ironically like she usually did, but rather shy this time. She turned her eyes to the floor before looking back at me.

"He'll have to do better than that. He owes her his life."

"You're right. I'm sure he'll figure something out."

"Well, I gotta get going. I don't wanna miss the bus," she said, nonchalantly.

"Do you want me to walk you there again?"

"If you want to."

"Alright, let's go," I said with a smile, taking off my Silver Edge cosplay.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened as I walked her to the bus stop. We talked about the session, our school project, and the new Ace Savvy. I wished I would have taken one extra step, asking her out or something, but not even as a new hero I felt brave enough to do it. I settled with simply enjoying every moment we spent together as friends.

For now, it was more than enough.

* * *

The next month and a half were unbelievable, and it's hard to summarize everything that took place within them. It was, without a doubt, the period of my life in which I was consistently the happiest I've ever been. Everything was going my way, and both my facets, hero and secret identity, were at the best. I felt like the king of two worlds.

Speaking as Lincoln McBride, my mood had been amazing all the way through. I felt constantly motivated, happy, ready for everything. I woke up early and the energy kept me going for the rest of the day and most of the night. I didn't even have to sleep too much to be at my full potential. I used to be pretty lazy, sleeping almost ten hours during the night and sometimes sneaking in a short nap in the afternoon. Now, four hours of sleep were more than enough, and I needed no nap.

This allowed me to be much more productive and make the best out of my days. Homework became a non-íssue. Even less now that my mind seemed to have improved just as much as my body. My memory was considerably better, and I was able to connect ideas and understand concepts much faster than before. I could finish my homework with enough time to enjoy playing videogames, where my fast reflexes were also turning me into a beast. If it wasn't because I had integrity and I didn't want to take advantage of my new skills, I would have opened a Twitch account just to turn into a sensation in the world of gamers and streamers.

But, as I said, my sense of responsibility and honesty wouldn't let me cheat with my new powers. I didn't want to start killing it on activities where I didn't before. It was unfair for everyone else who wasn't in equal conditions with me, and it also wasn't right to take advantage of a gift like the one I had received. So I had to start sabotaging myself. On my tests, I failed some questions on purpose so I wouldn't get the highest grade in the class. When playing videogames, I let my friends beat me on the same proportion they did before. I did allow myself to every once in a while make some impossible combos and then pretend that I had no idea what I did, but nothing more than that.

Where I had to be extra careful was in my gym class. It was hard to pretend that I was slower, weaker, or less energetic than I was, but I couldn't let myself give away my secret identity by mistake. The whole class had its eyes on me after the last time we played dodgeball, but after pretending to trip a few times and trying to jump the way I had last time only to faceplant myself, everyone seemed to buy the idea that I had just been lucky.

"Luck won't be on your side forever, kid!" The coach yelled at me one time. "There may be a new hero, but you won't be having a masked vigilante following your every step to make sure you're safe, so you better work hard or you won't survive! Now give me twenty!"

Finally, one of the best decisions I made was, during my first week as a hero, to convince my parents of letting me go to a gym.

"But you're only eleven!"

"Gyms are dangerous!"

"You can get hurt!"

"You can break something!"

"I'm not gonna do anything dangerous," I assured them. "I just want to run a bit and move my muscles. Our gym teacher says we need to be ready, and that if we don't improve our physical state, we might regret it on the crude reality of our streets. Besides, if I have high cholesterol and I don't exercise my heart, I may have a heart arrest by forty-five!"

They protested a bit more, but I was able to convince them that letting me go was for the best.

"Clyde, would you like to start with your brother?" They asked him.

"And sweating on public spaces as all the buff, athletic jocks see how pathetic I am? No, thanks!"

Attending a gym fulfilled three crucial goals. The first one was that it allowed me to measure my skills. The professor at the gym left me to do very simple tasks, barely giving me any weight to work with, but the moment he left to a different floor, I added all the extra weight I needed. In time, I kept raising the dead weight until I could lift 230lbs.

The second goal was that, even though I only went to the gym for half an hour, I managed to convince my dads that, between getting there, the warm-up, the exercising, the stretching, and getting back, I had at least three hours if I wanted to do it slowly and safely to not get hurt. That left me with two and a half hours in the afternoon to do much more… heroic activities.

And the third benefit was that it gave me a reasonable excuse to, three weeks after the incident, I could justify my muscles when my friends figured it out. It happened when Stella tried to tickle me before starting a DnD session.

"Wow, wow, wow!" She said, quickly pulling her hand away from my stomach. "Lincoln, what the heck? What was that?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I said, trying to recover from the tickles but also anxious for knowing exactly what she meant.

"That's not the tummy I remember!" She said, looking impressed. "Lift your shirt!"

"Uh, Stela, what are you doing?" Asked Liam, as all my friends looked confused. Except for Jordan. She was glaring at Stella.

"Lincoln, if you don't lift your shirt, a meteor will hit Silver Edge on his face."

"You know, if this was the other way around, that would be harassment," mentioned Clyde, but Stella just blew a raspberry at him.

After a brief argument regarding gender roles, I had to breathe in, wait for the best, and lift my shirt enough to show off the abs that the cube had granted me along with my powers.

The table went nuts. Clyde and the boys stood up and lost their minds, treating me like an alpha male, silverback gorilla.

"By the Avenger's League!" Said Rusty. "What do you EAT?"

"I, uh… the gym seems to be working fine," I said, covering myself and sitting, embarrassed. They weren't grown-men abs, they were well proportioned for my body, but it was still weird to see someone as young as me with toned muscles.

They kept arguing amongst themselves whether it was worth it or not to start going to the gym too, and they even argued about puberty and how it factored in. Just for curiosity, I sneaked a glance at Stella and Jordan, who remained quiet. Every time I turned to look at them, they both looked away with blushed cheeks.

Fortunately, everything calmed down a few minutes later and the session began. By the time we were done, my physicality became nothing but a joke that my friends would bring up every once in a while. Luckily, nothing changed, especially with Jordan.

We kept working on our project, hanging out once or twice a week in the library or my house, and I did allow my abilities to help me there. I wanted to get her the highest grade possible. Jordan seemed to be impressed by my knowledge of heroic history, and that made me pretty happy. Nothing remarkable happened between us, but spending as much time with her as I was felt like pouring fuel to the fire in my heart that burned for her. Every day she looked prettier, and we became closer.

Between all the work and investigation, we found some calm moments to talk about us. Our favorite movies, our favorite videogames, what we thought about certain food… I felt like I was getting to know her, and that made me very happy.

Lincoln McBride's life was wonderful.

* * *

Ace Savvy's life was also going phenomenal. My popularity was growing at a great pace. There were dedicated YouTube channels to cover my escapades. New articles speculating about my origins were coming out daily. They had even opened my own subreddit! I read it almost every day, checking out the different opinions. There was a lot that was negative. Some with arguments, some clearly the work of trolls. But the vast majority was positive, and that kept motivating me to keep on going with my career as a night vigilante.

I had figured out a routine. After dinner, I went to bed early and pretended to fall asleep right away. It was never long enough before the rest of my family followed suit. I would wait for some prudent minutes to make sure everyone was deeply asleep, and then I would quietly get up. I put pillows and clothes under my blankets to create the illusion that someone was sleeping on my bed. Then I'd grab my bag, go to the attic, fill it with my suit and gadgets, and then sneak out the window.

I would walk to an alley where I could change without being seen, and my night patrolling as Ace Savvy would begin. I went out every single night for several hours, taking different routes and streets every time, looking for crimes to stop or people to help. There were many uneventful nights, which was honestly kinda boring, but it was objectively the best outcome.

However, there were a lot of instances where I had to act. Robberies, assaults, people trying to break into stores, or steal a car. I intervened every chance I had, and my percentage of effectivity never went down 100%. Many delinquents surrendered the moment they saw me. Some others tried to run, to no avail. Some stubborn individuals had no demur to fight me, but I never gave them any chance. If they only had their fists, it was easy to outclass them, using my reflexes and dexterity to dodge everything they threw at me and reduce them. If they carried a knife, I would be much more aggressive, disarming them as fast as possible.

And for those that had guns, the most dangerous of them all, I gave them the least opportunities. If possible, I would enter with a cloud of smoke and give them one single kick to knock them out. If they had already seen me, then I'd resort to my cards, neutralizing them from a distance. On a couple of occasions I had to dodge bullets, which was always incredibly tense and nervewracking, but knowing that there was someone out there carrying a gun and willing to shoot children was motivation enough to give out my full potential and stop them. I couldn't let people like that get away.

Everywhere I go I found people excited about my performance as a hero. It's hard to describe how great it felt to just walk down the hallway at school, pretending to be thinking about something, and listen to what people had to say about me.

"He saved my uncle the other night! He told me Ace moved like a lightning bolt, that the bad guys couldn't even follow him!"

"I heard rumors that he was raised at a Shaolin monastery, and that he was sent here to finish his training with Ace Savvy."

"The other day he fought a gang of bikers that were causing trouble at a bar. He was outnumbered seven to one and they still lost! Though some people say they were pretty drunk and could barely stand up…"

"I don't know what he looks like under that mas but I bet he's hot!"

All the positive reinforcement I heard filled me with joy and motivation, but as I said, it wasn't all great. Some media didn't seem as happy with me as the rest.

" _What is a kid doing patrolling so late in the night?_ " A journalist asked. " _Doesn't he go to school in the morning? Has he decided that the educational system isn't cool enough or attractive enough for a superhero? I can only speak for myself, but I gotta say, I don't' feel comfortable leaving my safety to the hands of a kid that dropped out of middle school_."

Not only that, but my appearance had resurrected an old debate that had been silent for many years, and that was whether it was ok for the State to allow kids to risk their lives fighting crime on the streets. The International Committee of Metahumans had resolved that the individual responsibility of metahumans regarding the use of their abilities for good was beyond the reach of any State as long as they didn't break any law or caused damages to private property product of heroic mala praxis. But even then, there were many philosophical debates about the nature of letting a kid fight the battles of adults.

Fortunately, not all journalists were against me. And popular opinion seemed to rally behind the position of the most trustful journalist when it came to Ace Savvy, Katherine Mulligan. She publicly defended and supported me, talking about Ace Savvy's legacy and how he was a firm believer that anyone could be a hero, regardless of powers or age. That being a hero was just a matter of caring for others.

And that's how I tried to picture myself. I was simply someone that went out at night to watch over regular people, trying to give them back some of the tranquility and security that the original Ace Savvy made us feel.

* * *

It was in one of those late-night patrolling that a series of encounters changed forever my career as a hero. Or, at the very least, they changed the way I experienced it, how I thought about it, and my philosophy regarding the consequences of my actions. Once Clyde had fallen into Morpheus' hands, I got my decoy ready, packed up, and walked into the heart of the city. As soon as I found a dark place to hide my civilian clothes, I st1opped being Lincoln McBride and stepped into the night as Ace Savvy, the new cultural phenomenon in Royal Woods.

I roamed the streets for about forty minutes with nothing to report, until I heard the call of adventure, and a chance to be a hero presented itself to me once again.

"Help! Please, help!" I heard from my high position. I dashed my way to the source of the call for help, and I spotted a man lying on the street with a hand on his chest.

A heart arrest? A victim of an armed robbery? It looked serious, so I didn't doubt to find a low roof from which I jumped to the sidewalk. I cushioned the impact by flexing my legs, feeling the energy expanding through them and into my core. It didn't hurt, but it was always a strange feeling.

"Are you okay?" I asked, quickly approaching him. "What's wrong?"

"H-Help, please…" he begged, extending a hand.

The man didn't seem to have any visible wound, and there were no signs of a struggle or fight in the surroundings. I didn't have time to think, so without hesitation, I took his hand in mine and helped him back to his feet.

"What happened? Are you hurt? Let me know if—"

I saw fear in his eyes, and before I knew it, without even saying a single word he rushed away from me, running in the opposite direction. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him, he was running like he wasn't hurt.

"Sir, wait!" I asked, but right as I was about to start a sprint to catch up with him, a potent light appeared behind me, like a stage reflector.

I turned around, having to cover my eyes with my hand, but I soon realized the light came from a car that had been parked a few feet away from me. The driver lowered the light's intensity and began a sluggish drive towards me. It was a black, luxury car, with polarized windows in every direction. Was it legal for them to hide the driver? I didn't think so, just like I wasn't entirely sure it was legal for a car to have a blank plate.

The situation was odd and had me on the edge, ready to use every tool at my disposal if it came down to it. But there was currently nothing that put me at immediate risk. The car kept moving until the doors in the back were right in front of me. I could see a blurred shadow behind the window. I was feeling the tension rising inside my chest, but it wasn't long before the driver pulled down the back window to reveal the figure in question.

The first thing I saw was a long, thin top hat, showing then a big, round head, very cartoonish in its proportions. It was mostly just fat, with a very small area destined to the facial features made of his button-like eyes and a big, humongous nose with a white mustache. He looked like an overweight snowman, and his silhouette was so exaggerated that I recognized him in the act.

"Mister Tetherby," I said out loud, remembering him from the news and his argument with Katherine Mulligan.

" _Lord_ Tetherby," he corrected me with a big, fake smile. "I was knighted by the Queen of England."

"England has no king," I said, frowning. The man laughed.

"It did, young one," he said, sighing and looking at the distance like he was reminiscing times long gone. "It was one of the greatest, most powerful monarchies in the world. _The Empire on which the Sun never sets_ , they called it. And then… then the heroes came, and the whole bloody world changed."

He stayed lost in thought until he shook his head, seemingly having remembered that I was still there.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we old men sometimes lose ourselves in the past."

"No problem," I said, not even trying to hide my confusion.

"It's such a _pleasure_ to find you here, I had been dying to talk with our brand new _fantastic_ hero, the heir of Ace Savvy."

There was something extremely odd about the whole situation. The happy tone he was using to talk to me didn't seem to match the emotions his eyes were reflecting, almost shooting daggers at me. I was beginning to believe that our meeting had not been fortuitous.

"What do you want to talk about?" I replied nonetheless, crossing my arms over my chest. At the end of the day, even if this man was a multimillionaire owner of a private security firm, he was still a Royal Woods citizen. He deserved the same respect I'd give anyone else.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your… bravery for taking on Ace Savvy's mantle," he said, tipping his top hat. It didn't sound like a congratulation at all.

"I try to do what he'd do. If I have a chance to help those in need… I can't stand with my arms crossed."

Just for a second, it occurred to me that right then I was, in fact, standing with my arms crossed. I almost moved them, but I decided against it. Maybe he hadn't noticed.

"Very noble of you. It's certainly inspiring to see a new hero rising when it has been years since no one else has. Between you and the young duo of heroines, we've had more new heroes in two years than in the last eight. Curious, isn't it? All of them children. Why do you think that's the case?"

To be honest, I had no idea what had been Nova and Eclipse's motivation to become heroes. They usually didn't do interviews. Their public declarations usually were given right at the crime scene as they waited for police to arrive, or answering to fans that managed to cross paths with them. I couldn't speak on their behalf, and I couldn't reveal the secret behind my decision.

So I had to improvise.

"Maybe adults have gotten used to living in a city where no new heroes are allowed. Maybe they've given up, but we kids still have the hope that things can get better."

Even though it was all a big pile of excuses that I had thought at the moment, part of me wanted to believe that there was a certain truth to it. Tetherby's smile, creepier and wider than normal, stretched even further.

"I see. That's so… _inspiring_. Perhaps you're right, yes… Or perhaps… I don't know… Maybe adults have learned that being a hero in Royal Woods is too dangerous. Don't you think it's dangerous for you to be out here looking for criminals?"

"Of course it's dangerous," I replied right away, "but just because it's dangerous doesn't mean it's not something worth doing."

"We live in Royal Woods, kid, this isn't your regular city. There are no supervillains here either. We don't need heroes, we need cops. Security forces."

"You mean your company?" I shot at him, intuiting the implications behind what the man that controlled Michigan's private security thought.

Tetherby's smile dropped.

"I've dedicated my life to build a red of private security capable of protecting regular citizens. Without the need to depend on heroes or metahumans. Don't you understand you're destined to disappear sooner or later? We regular humans can't give us the luxury of putting our trust and security in the hands of heroes. Especially not the hands of _kids_."

Any sense of diplomacy that the man had been trying to keep was suddenly gone. There was a very clear and evident animosity coming from his end, and to be honest, the feeling was mutual.

"If you care so much about people's safety, what's the problem with us helping out?"

"The message," he responded. "People no longer respect police officers or the army as they did before. They don't treat them as the bastions of law and order. It's like people only care for metahumans. Why? Humanity had been taking gargantuan steps into progress before they appeared. We put men in the Moon! Technological progress was taking us on a road to a new golden age."

"Being a hero goes beyond having powers or not, it means putting everyone else's safety and wellbeing before our own," I said, getting tired of his rhetoric. "A cop or a firefighter is just as heroic and necessary as any other metahuman."

"And yet, ever since Ace Savvy left us we are 'helpless and alone', aren't we?"

I couldn't think of a way to refute that statement, which infuriated me. It wasn't that we didn't appreciate cops. We did, or at least, I did. It's just that… it was different. Heroes represented more than security, they were a mirror of who we wanted to be. It wasn't the way Tetherby presented it, and yet I couldn't think of how to articulate an answer.

"I have to keep patrolling," I said, turning around and beginning to walk away from him.

"This city is dangerous for heroes, kid," he repeated. "If you keep this up, you'll end up like your predecessor."

I stopped right in my tracks, turning over my heels to glare at him. "Is that a threat?"

"I'm informing you of what happens to heroes," he said with venom in his words. "All the heroes in this city disappear. The only exception, the only thing that keeps the population against letting my security forces take over was Ace Savvy. And now he's gone too. Do you think the weapon that ended him won't find its way to you?"

I felt a chilling sensation washing over me, and for a second, I was paralyzed. I had been following every news and investigation report regarding Ace Savvy's death to an almost obsessive degree. I had read every article on the internet, always aware of the sword of Damocles that hung over my head that was the fear of someone somehow figuring out that I had been a part of the incident. I was aware of every single public statement about it.

As far as I knew, Wild Card Willy hadn't said anything about getting any special weapon from no secret patron. Was I reading too much into this? Or had Tetherby just implied he knew about Willy's secret weapons?

"How do you know about the weapons?" I asked with gritted teeth, my jaw clenched and my fists closed.

The arrogant smirk on Tetherby's face vanished in a second. His eyes stared at me with terror crossing his face for the tiniest fraction of time, like he had been caught in an embarrassing position. He tried to put himself together, but something in the way he sat and looked at me had changed.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I said weapon to say something generic, we all know that Wild Card Willy specialized in—"

"How do you know about the weapons?!" I interrupted him. I felt a molten river of lava flowing through my veins, burning my insides and fueling a raging fire. If Tetherby had been somehow involved in Ace Savvy's death…

"C-Calm down!"

"Don't tell me what to do! What did you do?!"

"Drive, you fool!" He yelled at his driver, and the car began accelerating away.

I couldn't let him get away. Tetherby was hiding something, and I needed to know what it was. Ace had been willing to let Wild Card get away scot-free in exchange for the weapons, to examine them. What had he seen? What was it so interesting or special about them? Willy had mentioned a secret sponsor that had given him the weapons. Would Tetherby be involved in this? Why? What would his goal be?

I needed answers. I needed to solve Ace Savvy's case, not only for the obvious act of getting justice for a crime, which was important, but also… maybe I could find out that it wasn't all entirely my fault.

But I wouldn't be able to get any answer at all if Tetherby got away. I didn't know where he lived or where to find him. I needed to stop him right there and there and interrogate him, whatever it took. I needed to stop that car.

Without even thinking, I pressed the red deck's insignia. An explosive card jumped into my open palm. My eyes were already locked into one of the back wheels. I made all the trajectory math within a second: the speed I could throw the card, the current speed of the vehicle, its likely acceleration. I instinctively knew where to throw the projectile.

There was nothing else that mattered right then other than stopping Tetherby. I didn't care about anything else, I had tunnel-vision and all I could focus on was the vehicle I was about to damage. Maybe that's why I didn't notice a growing glow behind me or the sound of something rushing through the air at high speed. I wasn't aware of my surroundings until I threw my arm back, ready to take my action, and just as I was about to destroy a wheel, a hand closed around my wrist.

The surprise almost made me drop the explosive card. I turned to see who that hand belonged to and to say that I was stunned would be an understatement.

The hand in question was covered by a blue glove that continued up the arm, becoming a full-body spandex suit, with some areas in white and some in different tones of blue. A mask was hiding almost the entirety of her face, protecting her secret identity, and her whole body was surrounded by a blueish aura seemingly made out of innocuous flames.

Even though I had already found myself next to her in one opportunity several weeks ago, I couldn't help but feel small like an aunt next to the powerful, imposing figure of Nova. Who, by the way, was scowling down at me looking disappointed, like a mother seeing their child eating candy before dinner.

"Nova?" I said out loud, startled. She released my wrist, letting me move once again, and I suddenly remembered what I was about to do.

I looked down the street, but Tetherby's car was driving away.

"We gotta go after him!" I warned her. "We need to catch him! Let's go!"

I didn't understand why she had stopped me, but I was now excited at the prospect of temporarily teaming up with one of our town's two heroines. Who knew what would we be capable of if we joined our forces?

She didn't seem to share my enthusiasm, however. She sighed and extinguished the energy aura that enveloped her body.

"Don't go after him," she simply told me, shaking her head. "Lord Tetherby isn't someone you want to mess with."

"But he—!"

"And he's _definitely_ not someone you should throw an explosive card at," she added, this time with clear disapproval on her voice.

I looked at the card in my hand. I knew the power of Ace Savvy's arsenal. I wasn't going to destroy the card, my intention was simply to disable one of its tires so he couldn't getaway. It's not like I was going to kill or torture him to get information. I just wanted some answers.

However, hearing her words made me consider how the situation might have looked like to a third party looking at it. From a neutral point of view, I could understand how bad it looked. And to be honest, I felt very ashamed of myself. I had let my emotions get the best out of me, and because of that, I had almost done something more akin to the behavior of a villain.

I put the card back on its deck without looking at Nova. "I'm sorry, I… wasn't thinking clearly."

"Apparently."

"It's just that… Tetherby…"

"Let's go somewhere more private," she suggested. "I think it's time for us to have a talk."

* * *

I didn't remember ever being as anxious as I was during those minutes of silence that I lived next to Nova as we searched for a building on which we could have a conversation without fearing being interrupted. I would have guessed that any rooftop would do it, but Nova kept moving through the air, from building to building, looking for God only knows what. Even though I couldn't fly, I had no issues keeping up with her, although part of me wondered if this wasn't some form of test. To see if I managed to follow her.

We eventually reached a building with several billboards in different directions, and between those and the water tanks, that place seemed more like a secret lair for birds. There were many of them, in fact, but they flew away the moment two heroes interrupted into their territory. Once we had settled, Nova stopped flying, standing a few feet in front of me.

"I had been meaning to talk with you for a while," she said with no further ado.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. To be… completely honest, this is not the first time I watch you patrolling."

I could feel myself blushing when I heard that Nova, the most powerful hero our city had had in so many years, had been watching me as I patrolled. I guess that explained where she came from when she grabbed my wrist as I was about to attack Tetherby's car.

"You were watching me?"

"It's not as weird as it sounds, I swear. I was just trying to see if I could figure you out."

"What do you mean?"

"See what kind of hero you are. What's your motivation. How you treat people. That sort of stuff. I wanted to make sure you took this job seriously."

I couldn't help but feel a bit offended at that comment.

"Of course I take this seriously," I assured her, taking a step forward. "Why would I risk myself like this if I didn't?"

"Maybe not here, but many heroes in the world are only after money and game. And ever since your first day, you've been very busy taking selfies with your fans, talking to them…"

Part of me felt slightly embarrassed. The truth is that, more than once, fame and popularity had gotten over my head. I couldn't deny it. I would read YouTube comments about me, check how many likes pictures with me got on social media, I heard what the news thought of me. I was very happy whenever I read anything positive, and it ruined my day to read anything negative, even though the bad reviews were but a tiny fraction compared to the good ones. I loved seeing the way people reacted to my presence. It motivated me to keep being a hero.

But those little pleasures weren't the reason why I did this. I wouldn't risk my life just to get a bit more clout on social media. I wasn't that dull.

"I do it because it had always been my dream to talk and get a picture with the original Ace Savvy," I replied, before giving her a look filled with sentiment. "Or with you and Eclipse. Back when I was a normal kid, not a hero, what I wanted the most was to be able to one day meet you guys, the superheroes, and tell you how much I admire you and thank you for everything you do. To show you my appreciation. When I look at the people calling for me to get a picture, I see myself, and I do what I wish a hero would do to me. Ace Savvy was more than just a warrior of justice. He was a symbol of peace and hope. I'm… trying to become that."

Nova moved her eyes to the night's sky, with an expression that gave away the deep thoughts she was lost into. We remained in silence for some long seconds.

"I believe you," she said, after the pause. "I'm sorry if this was too sudden or if I made you uncomfortable. I just… want to be sure that you know what you're getting into."

"I do."

"Forgive me, but I don't think you've faced the grim reality that comes with being a hero."

Nova stepped closer, and in a very humanizing move, she knelt to be at eye level with me and put a hand on my shoulders. Her blue eyes weren't filled with her signature flaming energy, but they were still shinning with the intensity of a star. I had heard many people refer to eyes as the window into the soul, and as I felt myself being pulled into the endless lagoon that was Nova's, I felt convinced that there was something true about that trite phrase.

"You've done a great job so far, but being a hero isn't always easy and it's not always fun times. It's a very dangerous job, and just one tiny mistake can have catastrophic consequences. It can put our lives at risk, or even worse yet, innocent people's."

"I'm… aware of it," I said, overblown by mixed emotions between her piercing gaze and the softness of her hand on my shoulder. "That's why I give out my best every time."

"Sometimes our best isn't enough," she lamented. "Sometimes we believe we're ready to face anything that comes our way, but the truth is that we're not. It can be a very painful experience to realize this."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need you to understand what's at stake. I'm not telling you not to be a hero because I imagine that you're smart enough to realize how dangerous being one is in this city. Literally every hero disappears sooner or later. If that's not scary enough for you, then fine, it's your choice. But you gotta understand that some stuff's out of your control and that you shouldn't mess with it. And Lord Tetherby is one of them."

She took her hand out of my shoulder and stood up, giving anxious steps around the rooftop.

"Ace Savvy has been investigating him for years. Tetherby is a corrupt, dangerous millionaire. He has deep connections and controls more than you can imagine. Royal Woods is one of the few cities where he hasn't been able to consolidate his private security business. He knows how to cover his tracks and stay in the dark, pulling the strings from behind. Not even Ace was able to find enough evidence to prosecute him in all the years that he had been following him closely. Don't mess with him. Don't risk it."

Ace had been investigating him? Why? What kind of evil had he done for a superhero like Ace to dedicate years trying to find evidence against him? I couldn't imagine it, but it didn't sound like anything good. And yet, my mind was starting to make connections.

Tetherby was in the private security business. His deals involved high-security jails for criminals and supervillains, and he was trying to get a foot on the coordination and improvement of police forces. His source of income was directly related to security. And Royal Woods hadn't required it for one simple reason: Ace Savvy. He was all the security we needed. We felt more than protected with him around. _With him around…_

His life was the great obstacle that Tetherby could never overcome to offer his services to our city. The only thing he needed was to get rid of him for his plans to advance.

That's how he knew about the weapons. An expert in stopping and neutralizing supervillains surely had developed weapons to stop them, and if they were able to stop metahumans that used their powers for evil, then they would also work against a hero like Ace Savvy. He had provided Wild Card Willy with the means necessary to end Ace, tricking him without him realizing it. Willy had just been a pawn.

I felt like I had solved a thousand pieces puzzle. It all made sense.

"Nova… he was involved in Ace Savvy's death."

That got her attention. She frowned and leaned closer, looking dead serious.

"What do you mean?" She cautiously asked. "Wild Card Willy admitted it was his doing."

I had to be careful with my words. I couldn't admit that I had been there when Ace Savvy had died. I had told her several weeks ago, at the funeral, before I became and hero and back when I was just Lincoln McBride. If I told her now, she would realize that I was the white-haired kid that she had met at the funeral. And even worse, she might remember I had given her my real name.

I couldn't risk giving away my secret identity like that, even if she was a heroine that I trusted.

So excluding the fact that I knew about Wild Card Willy's guns, I told her my whole deductive process. I explained everything I was guessing about Tetherby's motivation to get rid of Ace Savvy, how convenient the circumstances were, and the curious phrases that the businessman had said to me a few minutes ago.

"He's desperate to close his deal with the town, but as long as Ace was alive, he wouldn't be able to do it. Wild Card had retired from the crime scene after his last conviction. What if Tetherby sent someone to convince him of doing one last job? Or if he tricked him and gave him a special weapon to finish Ace? When he threatened me, he said something like ' _Oh, now there are guns that can kill heroes_ '. Nova… he _has_ to be involved."

She heard my whole explanation, and her eyes moved rapidly from one place to the other as her mind was processing all the information.

"It makes sense… sounds like something he'd do."

"Then we need to interrogate him!" I said with conviction, punching my open palm with a fist. "Nova, if you, Eclipse, and I join our forces, we can go after him right now and make him confess what—"

"No," she decisively said, not even letting me finish my proposal. "This is not how things work, hero. We're not cops or prosecutors, we're vigilantes. We don't have legal authorization to break into someone's house or interrogate them. It'd be illegal and use intimidation to get what we want. That's not heroic at all."

"What are we supposed to do, then?" I asked, feeling exasperated. "We can't let him go like nothing's wrong. We have enough reason to believe he's been involved in the incident. There's nothing illegal with going to his house, knocking on the door, and ask for a word with him!"

"And what do we do when he says he had nothing to do with it?" She shot back, sounding annoyed as well. "Do you really think if we tell him what we think he'll break down and admit to all his crimes? He'll lie, he'll know we have no way of proving anything on a trial, and he'll now know we're after him. He'll delete all evidence left and will watch his every step. We'd just be doing him a favor."

I wanted to protest, but even though I knew in my heart that I was right, Nova's arguments were solid. I couldn't think of how to refute them. I felt angry, not at her, but the whole situation. The reality of a bureaucratic system was getting in the way of my investigation.

"Don't you want justice for Ace's death?"

I regretted pronouncing those words as soon as they left my mouth. Nova took a step back and unconsciously brought a hand to her chest, staring at me like I had physically hurt her with my words. But her vulnerable state only lasted for a few seconds before her pain turned into anger. She clenched her fists, and suddenly her whole body was surrounded by an aura of cerulean flames that burned without emitting heat. Even then, standing in front of a girl standing ablaze like a walking torch, bathing the whole roof with her blue glow, was more than terrifying.

"Ace Savvy saved me and my sister's life," she said as she tried real hard to control her emotions. "I'm here thanks to him. I owe him more than you can imagine. He was more than a hero to me, he… he was…"

She stopped, closing her eyes and looking away. Her body seemed to shake for an instant, and the intensity of her aura increased, now extending two feet in every direction. I suddenly understood the origin of her superhero name, since she looked like a star about to explode. I had to squint my eyes and look away to deal with the brightness.

"Of course I want justice for him!" She yelled. "But he respected laws and due process more than anyone else! Ace taught me that being a hero is not about catching villains, it's about protecting people. Locking Tetherby up won't bring us Ace back, kid."

She was shining too bright for me to look at her, but I seemed to notice her moving her arms to her face, like she was rubbing her forearm against her eyes. After a few seconds, the intensity of her aura died down until it was nothing more than a thin layer of energy slithering around her, giving her silhouette a soft glow of ethereal light. She glared at me, and without moving a muscle, she lifted in the air.

"You have a good heart," she said, trying to sound serene. "You have the potential to become a great hero. But you still have a lot to learn."

She sounded like she wanted to teach me a lesson, but her figure was so powerful and intimidating that it was hard for me to look at her as a teacher.

"Stay away from Tetherby. He's literally too dangerous for you or me to get involved with him. If he had something to do with what happened to Ace… then one day he'll have to answer to me."

"Nova, we can—"

"Stay. Away," she repeated. "I think I've distracted you enough for tonight. Thanks for talking with me. There's still so much more I want to ask you, but it'll have to wait. Like how did you get Ace Savvy's weapons."

She made a pause like she was expecting me to answer her right then, but I didn't know how to do it without lying or hiding the real circumstances in which Ace Savvy had died.

Realizing I wasn't going to say anything, Nova sighed.

"I'm sure Ace meant a lot to you. He meant a lot to me, too. But if we allow our passions to turn to vengeance, then we will become as evil as the villains. Good luck, hero."And with nothing else to say, her aura shone brighter and she flew away like a comet, leaving me alone and with my heart full of doubt.


	7. More than I could chew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check out TheSiegePerilous’ profile. He’s written a few stories based on this fic and they’re phenomenal. He took my stories and make them better, fuck!

**Chapter 7:  
** **More than I could chew.**

My encounters with Tetherby and Nova had a deep effect on me emotionally speaking, to the point where I had to end my patrolling earlier than I would have in any other day or circumstance. I simply couldn’t focus, and I was so mad I feared that if I walked into someone stealing a bike, I might channel my frustrations into them. The last thing I wanted was to end up hurting someone due to my issues. Even if they weren’t nice people.

I decided that what I really needed was a full night of sleep to unstress and find my inner peace. The whole situation seemed so unfair to me. In my heart, I had already decided that Tetherby was the mastermind behind Ace Savvy’s death. I had no true evidence to back up my theory, but to be honest, I didn’t need it. It all made sense, and even more importantly, if that was the case then I was given the best opportunity to redeem myself. If that evil businessman was as evil as he seemed and had orchestrated my idol’s fall, then to stop him and put him behind bars would be my way of bringing justice to the world and amend my mistakes. I owed it to Ace. I owed it to Royal Woods.

I owed it to myself.

I wished Nova would understand me. With her and her sister on my side, I was convinced that we could accomplish something great in this case. What could someone like Tetherby do against three heroes with emotional ties as strong with Ace Savvy as ours looking to bring him to justice? I understood what Nova tried to explain to me regarding laws and what was heroically correct… but if only she knew about my mistakes. The role I had in Ace Savvy’s death. Then, maybe, she would understand the unique position I was in, and why it was so important to me to stop Tetherby.

I had a multitude of clashing feelings inside of me, worst of all being the uncertainty of not knowing how to continue moving forward. There was no obvious answer. The evil side of me wanted to find Tetherby’s house, break in, and beat the truth out of him. And the part of me that needed help and emotional containment wanted to talk to Nova, take off the mask, and reveal why this case meant so much to me on a personal level. Neither seemed to be a good approach. It was so stressful.

“I need to sleep,” I thought as I got to my house, already wearing my civilian clothes. “If I keep thinking about this, I’ll go insane.”

I climbed with no issue to the partially-open window of the attic, hiding my Ace Savvy suit, my gadgets, and putting on my pajama once again. As I walked back into my room I became aware of just how tense I was. My back and shoulder muscles felt tight, and even though they didn’t hurt, it was an uncomfortable feeling. I tried to move my shoulder blades in circular motions to decontract and relax, but it had no effect. I supposed it was because of all the stress the night gave me, but it could honestly be that my body was starting to suffer the consequences of all the new physical activity I was—

“AAGH!” I let out before I could cover my mouth, muffling a cry of pain.

I was so distracted that I accidentally stubbed my toe against the bedframe. It was kinda funny that even as a superhero that had taken kicks, punches, and big falls regularly, things as simple as hitting my toe against furniture were still quite painful.

“L-Lincoln?” On the other side of the room, Clyde began to sit up, rubbing his bare eyes, no glasses on. “What’s up? Wha-? What happened?”

“Sorry, I, uh, I had to pee,” I said, faking a yawn.

I couldn’t see his face in the dark, but I thought I saw a small movement of his head like he was nodding.

“You should stop drinking so much water,” he said, laying down on his bed. “Every night you wake up to go to the bathroom.” He yawned, turning on his side, turning his back to me. “You take so long I always fall back asleep before you come back.”

He put himself in a comfortable position, completely ignoring the way his words paralyzed me, forgetting about the pain in my toe and feeling only the cold sweat gathering on my forehead.

Falling asleep that night was a living hell.

* * *

And even when I did get to sleep, I can’t say that I rested. Resting would imply that I managed to separate and at least temporarily leave behind what was stressing me and that I’d be able to recover my energies both physically and emotionally.

And that could have been the case if it wasn’t because I had yet another weird dream that only further confused me.

The first half of my dream was pretty normal. Or at least as normal as any other of my dreams always were. My friends and I were all superheroes and we had formed our own organization, watching over the whole country to catch the most dangerous criminals. Funny enough, all our powers and suits were the same as our characters from the Dungeons and Dragons campaign we played. Maybe that’s why I didn’t feel like it was a weird dream or anything like that. Which was almost ironic, since the part of my dream that confused me and felt completely out of place wasn’t the one about heroic fantasies, but rather the one about a mundane, regular day on a field.

Just like the odd visions I had on a dream weeks ago, I felt that I was but a camera, a spectator with very limited access to the whole information presented before me. It looked like I was climbing up a hill with very high grass. It was the early hours of the morning, with the colors of dawn bathing the sky above, and the golden rays of light reflecting on the drop of dew resting on each blade of grass. The field was filled with groups of wildflowers, opening up their petals at the first, soft touches of the Sun.

Birds and insects flew through the air, buzzing and singing to greet the new day. It was an incredibly pacific scene, and the only thing missing was a piece of classical music by Edvard Grieg playing in the background to crown the perfection and sublime beauty of the moment. The top of the hill kept getting closer the more the camera advanced, and with the clouds framing such a beautiful picture, it was hard to imagine what sort of spectacle was waiting beyond it. I didn’t have to wait too long, since I soon got there, and it was truly a magnificent view. The horizon was interrupted by a line of trees so tall that they broke any sense of scale that one could have, and they looked twice as big due to their reflection on a beautiful lake. It was almost like a crystal ellipse that recreated not only the trees but the colors of the cloud and the sky. Seeing all the tones of pink, yellow, and orange on the water was a great privilege. 

The breeze kept blowing, moving the treetops and dragging autumn leaves of the warmest colors. One of them passed in front of the camera, floating so slow and softly that it seemed to be inviting me to grab it. I wanted to, I wanted to touch it, to get a better look at it… so I stretched my arm and took it.

And just like that, I was no longer a camera, I was myself, and everything around me seemed much bigger than it should. The leaf in my hand, the grass that almost reached my shoulders, the flowers with their intoxicating fragrance.

“ _ Lincoln! _ ”

Someone was calling me, but I was more interested in the view. I began to try to follow the flight of birds until they got lost beyond the clouds or hid among the trees. The voice kept calling my name, but I didn’t seem to truly register it. The beauty and peacefulness of nature captivated my every sense.

“ _ There you are _ ,” said the voice, with unmistakable happiness. “ _ You can’t run away without telling us. _ ”

I didn’t know why, but that voice soothed me. It was a voice that brought me happiness and safety. With a smile plastered on my face, I turned towards it and I ran to meet it. Every step I took was a challenge on its own, needing to make a big effort not to trip and keep my balance.

“ _ Liiiincoooooln~ _ ” Sang the voice, getting closer to where I was.

And then, with great pleasure, I was able to finally see the figure. It was walking up the hill, so the first thing I saw was the top of its head. The sun was right behind it, darkening the silhouette but painting all its edges with a radiant, golden glow. I couldn’t discern any detail, but it was clear that it was a woman, and to recognize her brought me an inner warmness greater than that of the sun itself.

I ran to meet her, stretching the hand that carried the leaf. Her precious voice laughed, and she crouched to be at my height.

“ _ Is that for me? So pretty! You’re such an explorer, Lincoln. _ ” She took the leaf as if it was a treasure, and I could hear myself giggle, but it wasn’t my voice, it was at a much higher pitch. “ _ Let’s go, breakfast is ready. Lincoln. Lincoln? Lincoln? _ ”

“Lincoln?”

A much lower voice woke me up, startling me, and taking me right out of my dream. I opened my eyes to notice that I was no longer on the hill, but rather my everyday bedroom, with Clyde standing next to me.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. My augmented senses had me already wide awake and alert, even though it had been mere seconds after waking up.

“Clyde,” I said, smiling at him. “What’s up?”

“Breakfast’s ready,” he said, yawning and stretching his arms over his head. “They knocked on the door, but you were super passed out.”

“Yeah, I was… very tired.”

“Must be the gym. You’re spending an awful lot of time there.”

“Probably. I, uh… Go ahead, I’ll be right there.”

Clyde tilted his head as he stared at me. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, absolutely. Don’t worry.”

“Alright. Just remember, if you ever need to talk about anything, whatever it is… you know you can count on me.”

His words only made me feel guiltier, but I still managed to break a smile for him. “Of course, bro. Same to you. You know we always have each other’s backs.”

“Of course,” he agreed, smiling back before leaving our bedroom.

As soon as he left, the smile died on my face.

What was that dream? It didn’t feel like one. It all seemed so real. The colors, the scents, the sounds, it was all a major sensory bomb hitting me all at once. And it was a weird dream in the sense that the first person view was too perfect. Most of the time, in my dreams, I could see myself, like I was watching a movie where I was the main character.

And who was that woman? The contrast between her silhouette against the sun didn’t let me get a clear picture of her, but even then, it was as if her facial features were blurred. At the moment it didn’t seem strange at all, but trying to remember my dream, I couldn’t recollect any sense of what her face looked like. It was like a nebulous memory.

Memory. My heart jumped when I comprehended that my dream hadn’t been a dream, but a memory. One so distant that had yet set a great impression in my mind enough to be able to recollect it now. But what kind of memory was that? I had never been on a hill like that. And I couldn’t remember any big important women in my life. Unless… Unless…

* * *

“Dads, do you know anything about what my mother looked like?” I asked in the middle of breakfast when I finally gathered the courage I needed.

Their reactions were just as I expected. Howard spat all the coffee he was drinking back into his cup, and Harold’s fists clenched the newspaper he was reading so hard that he almost tore it up in two. Clyde lowered the spoon with cereal he was about to eat back to his plate, staring at me with a raised eyebrow and giving anxious looks at our dads.

I rarely felt any need to ask about my biological parents. The McBrides had adopted me when I was still a baby, and they had given me a life full of love and caring that I had nothing to complain about. I loved them and Clyde with all my heart, and it was more than clear that they were my real family, regardless of blood ties. They had explained to me when I was younger that my parents had died in an accident, leaving me with no family to take care of me. The McBrides were on a list of Social Services to take care of orphans until the state managed to find a home for them, but they had loved me so much that they immediately did all the paperwork necessary to legally adopt me.

I didn’t even know what my last name had been before McBride, and that’s because I honestly didn’t have any particular interest in knowing more about my life as a baby before the accident that turned me into an orphan. Only on very specific occasions had I ever asked about my past, wanting to know what kind of accident had it been, or how old my parents were, or some random piece of information my curiosity drove me to know.

Every time I asked anything, however, my dads got alarmed and apprehensive. In their defense, they were always alarmed by everything, so it’s not like it was something completely unexpected or out of the ordinary. Knowing them, they probably feared my questions as a signal that they weren’t doing a good enough job as my adoptive parents. I loved them, but sometimes I wished they would give me the benefit of the doubt and not immediately assume the worst case for everything.

“Y-Y-Your mother?” Asked Howard, cleaning his chin with a handkerchief and shooting a desperate look at my other dad.

“What do you mean, Lincoln?”

“I mean if you have any idea of what she looked like. Did they ever show you a picture or anything?”

They exchanged a long, anxious look before they responded. “We never saw them. Only you,” said Harold, faster than necessary.

“Why the sudden interest in her appearance?”

“I, uh… it doesn’t matter.”

I continued eating my cereal, not looking at them. I didn’t want to worry them further by revealing that a memory of her had reached my dreams. They wouldn’t understand. Or even if they did, they would wonder how I could access memories from when I was two years old, and I certainly didn’t feel like explaining that a magic cube had granted me a body and mind that were superhuman and capable of many fabulous things.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see how Clyde shyly resumed eating his cereal, and my dads carried a silent conversation through their looks.

“Lincoln… I know it must be tough to have never met your biological parents, but I just want you to know that I love you just as much as I love Clyde,” Harold assured me with the softest voice.

“You two are the best things to ever happen in our lives, and there’s nothing we’re prouder of,” added Howard.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it awkward. It was just a silly question.”

“N-No, it’s fine. I understand that you’re curious. Just—”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing.”

It wasn’t, but I found myself suddenly frustrated for a whole new reason than last night. A worry that I had never felt in eleven years, and that now hit me like a truck out of nowhere right after a very stressful night. I had never been interested in remembering or finding out anything about my biological parents. My adoptive family was more than enough. But it was also the case that I had never been presented with a single memory or image about them. The woman in my dreams sounded so… overjoyed and amiable. Loving. She seemed to love me like I was her treasure. And I guess it should have been obvious, but I had never thought about her in those terms. Unconsciously, my reasoning had always been that had they loved me, they wouldn’t have died when I was a baby.

I finished breakfast and, since it was a Sunday morning and thus I had no school, I decided to go to our house’s backyard, where the garage wall had a basketball ring. Clearly, the sport had never been my thing, but even if I sucked at it, throwing some doubles and triples was always a good way of entertaining and distracting myself.

Or at least it used to be. Now it presented no challenge for me. I could throw from any position having barely looked at it, and every time I managed to score. It was still a nice way to keep myself moving, so I kept doing it as I reflected on everything that worried me.

The idea that my biological parents had loved me was a Copernican turn. It was easier to think of them as just some adults that had casually given me birth, but that held no emotional ties with me. Believing that I hadn’t meant anything to them was the easiest way to convince myself that they didn’t mean anything to me either. And if they didn’t mean anything, then I had no reason to miss them. Until now, that had been one less issue in my life.

I closed my eyes and threw the ball without even looking, having previously judged the distance and force required for it. I didn’t see the ball scoring, but I could hear it barely scraping the net.

“That was amazing.”

Clyde’s voice took me out of my thoughts. He still wore his pajamas.

“Pure luck,” I said like it was no big deal. He smiled, but it was a sad smile.

“We both know that wasn’t luck.”

Some birds on a nearby tree took advantage of the long seconds of silence to sing a song.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been watching you for a couple of minutes. You threw like twenty times, and you got them all in,” he explained with the same tone he’d use if he was talking about a dead pet. “Since when are you so good at basketball? Or everything else you’re suddenly good at?”

I was speechless. I felt like my throat was closed, not letting a single word out. Or maybe it was the fact that my mind couldn’t think of anything to say. Up until now, Clyde hadn’t given out any signal of noticing anything unusual about me. He still treated me like he always did, so I just assumed that I was doing a great job protecting my secret identity. I should have known, however, that my brother wouldn’t stay fooled like the rest of my friends or even my parents. Clyde knew me better than I knew myself. It was inevitable for him to figure out something about me had changed, sooner or later.

That didn’t mean I was going to confess anything, however. Being part of the secret would put him in as much danger as I was. With great effort, I found the motivation and courage I needed to answer him.

“I don’t know. Must be puberty, I guess,” I said, as embarrassing as the lie was. I couldn’t think of any other plausible excuse. “I feel so much more energetic lately, and ever since I started the gym, I find physical activities to be easier. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Are you sure, Lincoln? Cause I can tell something is bothering you and you’re trying to keep it a secret. I don’t… I don’t know what it is, or even if it’s related to the fact that you’re spending much less time on your homework or that you’re better at sports. But I do know that, whatever it is, you can count on me to help you.”

I knew it, damn right I knew it, but I couldn’t reveal my secret even though doing that would make things so much easier for everyone. I didn’t want to endanger him in any way.

“It’s nothing, Clyde.”

“Yes, it is,” he defied me with sorrow impregnating his voice. “I don’t know what it is, but you’re not the same guy you were. And… honestly I don’t know if that’s something good or bad. I can tell that you’re happier, and the whole gang sees that you’re so much more confident in yourself. Stella even says you look more handsome. Maybe it’s something good, but it’s pushing you away from me.”

Quickly losing the blush in my cheeks that hearing that thing about Stella had caused me, I stepped closer to him and put both hands on his shoulders.

“Clyde, what are you talking about? Nothing could EVER push me away from you! You’re my brother, my best friend! We’re Clincoln McLoud, the best duo in the world!”

“We were. Now you’re always busy. Every day you go to the gym or the library after school, and when you get home you’re always distracted. We play together, but it’s like your mind is somewhere else.”

His words hit me harder than any criminal had done yet.

“I… had no idea…”

“I know you’re not doing this on purpose,” he assured me. “Just… if you don’t feel ready to tell me… I want you to know that you  _ can _ do it. At your own pace, whenever you want. Or never, if you don’t.”

“I don’t—”

“I just want what’s best for you,” he interrupted me, softly touching my wrists so I would drop my grip on his shoulders. “I hope you can work out whatever’s happening with you.”

He seemed to doubt for an instant, but he quickly launched forward and hugged me. I hugged him too, closing my eyes and trying to show him just how much I loved him, prove to him that my fraternal love hadn’t changed at all. He eventually broke away and wished me luck one more time before he went back to our house.

I sighed, hurt by this whole ordeal, but also resolved. This talk had proved to me one undeniable fact: my activities as a superhero were starting to affect my personal life. It was something that happened to all heroes sooner or later. I had to start making big decisions soon: would I prioritize my life as a hero or my family and loved ones? It wasn’t an easy decision… but maybe I could find a way to feel good about both sides of me.

If I managed to fulfill one big objective as a hero, making sure that streets were safer for the citizen, then I could allow myself to focus more on my personal life without the leaden guilt weighing over me.

And I had a clear mission that, if I managed to solve it as soon as possible, would manage to satiate my search for justice, at least for a little while.

* * *

The moment I realized the incoming call was from Jordan, my heart made a somersault inside my chest. I dropped what I was doing and picked up the phone as fast as I could.

“Jordan! Hi! Uh, I mean...” I composed myself, trying to sound less enthusiastic and more casual, like having her call me wasn’t the highlight of my days. “Sup?”

“ _ You’re such a dork _ ,” she said in between laughs. “ _ I’m fine. And you? _ ”

“Oh, you know. Nothing new. Just doing some stuff.”

“ _ Too busy to check your messages, I presume? _ ”

“Uh…”

“ _ I texted you like three times, _ ” she said, sounding rather piqued. It was a slap right into my soul, and I felt like a real idiot.

“Oh, shoot. Jordan, I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t hear my phone,” I admitted with great chagrin. “I’ve been kinda busy, I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t mean to ignore you, you know you’re my friend, I didn’t—”

“ _ Lincoln, it’s fine _ ,” she interrupted me, sounding entertained and pleased, and I had to wonder if she hadn’t been faking her annoyance. If that was the case, she had rolled a crazy high deception roll. “ _ Don’t worry. I just wanted to see how you’re doing with your part of the essay. _ ”

I facepalmed so hard I could have killed the nastiest of spiders had one of them been there. I hoped the sound it made wouldn’t be heard over the phone, and also that I didn’t leave a red mark with the shape of my hand over my face.

“Oh, yeah, I’m almost done with it,” I lied, closing my eyes and feeling like a jerk. “I just need to finish some details, but I’ll do that tonight.”

“ _ You sure? We need to turn in all our progress tomorrow morning. Do you need me to help you with anything? I can go over to your house and help you. _ ”

I was so anxious and distressed that I failed to detect the faintest glimpses of hope her voice was trying to hide.

“No, no, don’t worry. You did your part and I promised to finish mine today. It’s alright, I got this. I promise I’ll have it ready in time.”

There was a slight pause, and then I  _ was _ able to notice the obvious deception in her voice. Disappointed because I didn’t have my part ready yet, of course.

“ _ Alright. But let me know if you need help, alright? It’s a pretty big deal. _ ”

“Of course. Don’t worry, you can trust me.”

“ _ If you don’t, Circe will kill Silver Edge _ .”

I had to laugh. “If I don’t, Silver Edge will kill himself.”

“ _ Perfect, then. See ya, Linc _ .”

“See ya, Jordan.”

As soon as the call ended, I put my phone on the floor and fell on my back, covering my face with my hands and muffling a scream. How could I be so stupid? So many things had occurred to me in the past few days that I had forgotten we had a presentation to show our progress in our project. We had to deliver a report of at least eight pages, and then explain what we were working on in front of our teacher and our classmates. Jordan had finished her part the day before, but I had been too busy with my heroic activities to make much progress.

Besides, to be completely honest, I knew that my keen mind would be able to write my part in just a little while. I didn’t need to sit for hours like I used to. The moment I pressed my pencil on the page, words flowed right out of me, unchained. I was convinced that I would be able to finish NaNoWriMo in two weeks if I wanted to.

So I wasn’t necessarily worried about time, but I did feel ashamed for not having taken my project with Jordan with the seriousness it deserved. We had been working together incredibly well, and our teacher was happy with our progress. But now it was the time to make an official check-in of our work, and it’d be graded. I needed to take this seriously and do my best effort for Jordan and me to get the best grades possible.

I sighed, sitting back up. It was decided; tonight I’d have to pull an all-nighter to get our project done to the best of my ability. The ideal scenario would be for me to finish it as soon as I got home, but let’s just say that I was busy with a second investigation project.

I was currently sitting in the middle of Ace Savvy’s secret lair, with a huge number of folders, maps, notes, and pages scattered around me, occupying most of the floor. Nova wasn’t lying when she said Ace Savvy had been investigating Tetherby for years. There were several black folders with his name on a tag and dates that went back as much as eight years ago. Newspapers articles, lab results, printed reports from different security offices throughout the State. The available information I had at my disposal was abysmal, and the only way I had to find what I was looking for was to take glances at the documents, looking for keywords that would help me get a glimpse of the big picture.

As far as I could understand, Ace was under the impression that Tetherby hated heroes and had been running a long crusade to get the media to hate them too. His metahuman control technology was the best in the business, and that’s why most prisons hired him as their main contractor. That was already a fortune that the government had invested in him, but Tetherby wanted more. According to the little notes Ace wrote on the margins of different documents, it seemed that the company was developing a three-stage plan to completely replace police officers on the streets.

Stage one: provide police forces and the military with high-tech weapons designed to neutralize metahumans. Stage two: create medium-sized mecha suits for trained Special Forces Commandos and marines, that would allow them to fight with even the strongest metahumans on equal foot. Stage three: the creation of automated robots to fight metahumans, completely replacing humans and acting on an impossibly high level of efficiency.

Tetherby Industries called it the Sentinel Project.

It was captivating and lowkey terrifying to think that there was such a project to implement in our cities, with robots patrolling and no human police officers on duty. According to the notes, they hadn’t yet managed any city to formally approve the implementation of the first stage, and the second one was still on a testing period.

Perhaps this information was worth sharing with the media or any independent journalist brave enough to call out these plans, but to be frank this was not what I was going after.

What I was searching for took me longer to find. On a black folder where Ace collected information about Tetherby’s experimental weapons that were under development, a picture of an abandoned factory caught my attention.

“Abandoned warehouse, industrial district, 742 Evergreen Terrace,” I read out loud. “Secret laboratory for weapon experimentation.”

I smiled. This was exactly what I was after. Now I had a concrete address where I could potentially find evidence about the gun that had ended Ace Savvy’s life. And if I could prove that it could be tracked down to Tetherby… then maybe there would be a way to prosecute him. Even Nova would have to admit what a great job I had done.

Fortunately for me, Ace had extensive notes about the lab, including the guard’s schedules, floor plans, and the security cameras’ blindspots.

I took a glance at my phone.

“Sorry, Jordan,” I mumbled to myself. “I promise I’ll finish this tonight. But this is important.”

I spent the rest of the afternoon studying everything Ace Savvy knew about the warehouse.

* * *

Come the night, my nightly routine went the same as always. Go to bed early, wait for everyone to follow suit, and make sure Clyde is asleep. Only this time I had to be  _ extra _ sure that my brother wouldn’t wake up when I left my room. With the knowledge that he had been aware of me leaving the room, this time I did my best to be as silent as possible. I moved like a ghost, watching every step, every small movement as I readied the decoy under my blankets. Before moving to the attic, I even tip-toed to Clyde’s bed, making sure that his eyes were closed.

Everything seemed to be in order, so I sneaked into the attic, where I changed into some comfortable clothes and put everything I’d need as Ace Savvy in my bag. I picked once again all the small papers with my notes about the warehouse. I had been studying it hard to remember as much as possible, but just in case, I grabbed the folded sheets of paper with the most important information to put them in my utility belt. I didn’t have much space in the tiny compartments, so I left there in the attic the ones that weren’t as crucial, such as the address, which I had deeply memorized.

“Time to deal out some justice”, I told myself, raising a fist. “Tonight I’ll find Tetherby’s true role in all of this. Don’t worry, Ace, everyone will know the truth.”

I jumped out of the attic’s window and walked away from my home, determined and with a self-imposed mission. There was nothing that could change my mind, I was laser tight focused on my goal. I never even considered looking back.

I probably should have, and what I’d seen might have made me reconsider my actions.

* * *

Getting to the industrial district meant a very long walk from home. It took me over an hour, walking at a moderately fast pace. Once I got there, though, it was easy to find a place to put on my Ace Savvy suit, and my mobility as a hero increased exponentially. With a bit of clever maneuvering and with a big display of dexterity and agility, I managed to position myself on the top of a nearby construction site, having a clear look at the abandoned warehouse.

It looked like your typical industrial building, with a big metal structure and a roof that covered the entirety of the main body, which seemed to be slightly bigger than a block. It had some industrial chimneys, but there was no smoke coming out of them. All windows were bricked up, and from everywhere you looked at it, the construction didn’t seem to be either functioning or occupied. It seemed to have been abandoned months, even years ago.

Of course, under a more scrutinizing eye, it was easier to notice the dozen security officers that moved on predetermined patterns around the building, patrolling the perimeter in search of intruders. They all had pistols at their waists, and the ones that covered the main entrances carried shotguns. It was also possible to spot the tiny red lights of the security cameras at every corner of the complex.

Infiltrating it would have been a crazy idea for any person, including me. Thank God Ace had taken his sweet time surveying every necessary parameter to plan an infiltration. Knowing the guard’s patrolling patterns and the security camera’s vision angles were invaluable information. I didn’t know how long it must have taken Ace to recollect all that data.

It was still a fool’s errand to try to infiltrate the complex, an incredibly dangerous mission. I didn’t know how the security guards would react if they saw me, but because they worked for a company that specialized in dealing with metahumans and that they were carrying guns, I assumed that it would probably not be a friendly encounter.

With one last look at my notes, I prayed to whatever cosmic entity was in charge of protecting me, and I sprinted right into the action. Or, best-case scenario, into a lack of action.

“The die is cast,” I said, dashing through the street to hide behind a truck.

I peeked my head, looking for the security guard that was in charge of the sector I needed to sneak through. This individual was wearing headphones, probably in constant communication to the intelligence center of the building, ready to report the rest of the employees any sign of an intruder he—

“ _ Oooh, girl! If I could…! Oooh, girl! Give you the…! _ ”

I had to rub my eyes to make sure that I wasn’t imagining stuff. The security guard was bobbing his head and shaking his hips to the rhythm of  _ Boyz Will Be Boyz _ . I kept staring at him, no longer waiting for the right moment to sneak in, but just simply incredulous. Especially when the song ended and the man shed some tears.

“I love them so much…” I heard him say. He took out his phone and pressed the screen before turning around and walk away. “ _ Oooh, girl! If I could…! Oooh, girl! Give you the…! _ ”

That was the moment I was waiting for. As soon as he turned around, I jumped from behind the truck and ran full speed to the metal fence. With a hop to wrap my fingers around the wire and using my arms to pull me up, I managed to swiftly go over the fence. The moment I dropped, I let my body absorb the impact and roll to the side to find cover behind wooden crates. I tried to sneak a peek showing as little of my head as possible, and I patiently waited for the camera on the other side of the building would turn to the other extreme of his vision range.

The moment it did, I bolted out of my hiding place towards the wall right in front of me. I managed to push myself to it before the camera reached back to look at me, already protected under a blindspot. I had reached the first checkpoint. I only needed to go through… six more.

“Those weapons better be on display when I get there,” I mumbled to myself.

* * *

Getting to the next checkpoints was a whole Odyssey. I needed to flawlessly manage my time to coordinate my movement with the camera angles and the security guards’ behavior. Who, as I found out through my little adventure, weren’t as systematic and predictable as the machines. After the guard that was a big stan of young male pop groups came a guard that was too busy with her phone to move away from the spot I needed to get into. I was running out of time, so I had to grab a small piece of debris and throw it to a different point to make some noise and get her to investigate it. There was also a different guard that, apparently, was not allowed to leave his station for a bathroom break, so he had the disgusting idea of relieving himself against the building.

That man deserved to go to jail. He didn’t even wash his hands!

The scariest moment however was during my last checkpoint. Having snuck my way like a spy, I only needed to reach a small section of a wall where no cameras could watch. There, a rain drainpipe made its way down from the roof, secured to the wall with metallic anchors. I would need to use it to climb my way to the roof without using my grappling hook gun since it might make noise when it hit the tin at the top. I ran as fast as I could to avoid being caught on the cameras, and then I serendipitously began to climb up. But right when I was halfway up, two guards came, one to either side of me.

The thirty feet that separated me from the ground and the fact that my cape blended itself to the night were the only hopes I had for them not to notice me. I stood still in my place, my heart beating like a drum, praying for them to leave. This wasn’t part of their patrolling, there was supposed to be just one guard in ten minutes. What were they doing?

Anxious like I had never been, I saw them getting closer to my position, without looking up. They positioned themselves right under the drainpipe, three feet away from each other. If they were trying to block my exit and get ready to aim at me with their guns, well, tough luck. I was already getting my smoke card ready to blind them and fall right over them. If I placed my elbows in the right position, gravity would do all the job and make the impact strong enough to—

“For the love of God…” I cursed, rolling my eyes.

The two guards were exchanging very,  _ very _ passionate kisses, their hands roaming through each other’s necks and backs. Was every single guard in here an incompetent worker? Maybe they had been patrolling for years without anything happening, and they didn’t take their job as seriously as they should have. Well alright, good for me, since I didn’t have time to—

I shouldn’t have looked back again. They were starting to take their shirts off. Without turning back and now fully convinced that they were distracted enough not to notice me, I made my way to the roof. Once there, it was only a matter of moving carefully not to make any sound and reach the vents. These were indeed working, and I could notice a warm air flux coming out of them. I used one of my metal cards as a screwdriver to remove the grate.

Classic means of infiltration. Maybe it wasn’t wide enough for the original Ace Savvy to use them —which might have been the reason why he never got inside—, but my childish size fitted perfectly. Once inside, I maneuvered my body to fish out my notes on the vent and evacuation plans that Ace had recollected. I wasn’t entirely sure where I needed to go to find the weapons I was looking for, but for the time being, infiltrating inside the warehouse was the logical first step. I searched for a vent exit that led to a remote corner in the hangar, where it would be easier to stay hidden. It was relatively close to my position, so I put all my papers away and began to crawl in that direction, squinting my eyes to move against the warm air current. It wasn’t painful or anything like that, but it was still pretty uncomfortable.

Moving like a soldier on the trench, but much more silent, I crawled until I found the vent exit. I could hear the sound of conversations, weldings, and mechanical elements being moved around. All I could see from my position was a thin, metallic bridge that crossed the hanged, and a pile of silver, industrial containers, all of them identified with a logo that resembled an I over a T.

“Thetherby Industries”, I recognized right away.

With no security guard to be seen, I decided it was time to step in. The vent crate was made out of a weak sheet of metal, so making use of my new strength, I managed to push it open from the inside, breaking the corners and leaving a hole big enough for my body to go through. With a quick movement, I slid outside.

I muffled my fall, silent as a shadow. I could have a better look at the complex now, but my main priority was to secure my position. The large roof that covered the totality of the warehouse had a series of metallic trusses, at least twelve feet tall, with bright fluorescent luminaires hanging from the bottom. If I managed to get there, it would be almost impossible for anyone to see me. Between the height, the light contrast, and the darker shades of my suit, there was no way they could spot me.

I needed to act fast, so I stood behind a steel column that covered my body almost entirely and I immediately used my grappling-hook, rising to the metal truss above me. Once there, I could finally take my time to analyze the situation.

The warehouse was just as big on the inside as it looked from the outside. The lights on the ceiling structure gave the whole place a very artificial look, as they were reflected on the white, ceramic floors and the walls covered by sheets of metal. There were some bridges and metallic platforms that created a big ring on the perimeter, leaving the center free to be occupied with lots and lots of work tables. They were filled with computers and different pieces of technology.

At least I assumed they were pieces of technology. Without knowing anything about engineering, all of it looked like metal junk.

Dozens of people with white uniforms were walking around the entire place, reading tablets, carrying trolleys with boxes, and casually saying hi to security guards with assault rifles, standing every thirty feet.

“This isn’t just a lab. This is something big, I can’t waste any time. If I was an evil tycoon, where would I keep the dangerous weapons?”

Giving a glance around, I noticed that on the other extreme of the hangar were many computers and monitors, almost like a whole wall turned into a giant screen. There was a small platform next to it with what seemed to be a giant control panel, and standing in front of the computers, many adults wearing white coats that seemed to be arguing with a small, fat man wearing a top hat.

“Tetherby.”

I closed my fist almost painfully around part of the metal structure. Determined to figure out what was going on, I began jumping from truss to truss, making my way through the warehouse without being noticed. It didn’t take long for me to reach Tetherby’s position, my eyes focused on him from above like a bird of prey. Even though I was many feet over them, the volume of their conversation was high enough for me to hear what they were saying.

“More time? Do I look like a watchmaker? I gave you plenty of time!” The businessman said.

“Less than two months hardly counts as plenty, sir,” tried to argue one of the employees. Even though he was a very tall person, comfortably over six feet, his shoulders and head were down, as if the tiny man with the top hat was indeed the bigger of the two.

“Studying the human genome is a delicate process, hard to interpret most of the time,” chipped in another man, wearing the same coat as everyone else.

“Believe me, Morgan, if I wasn’t aware of how stupidly complicated these studies are, I wouldn’t be paying you a salary with so many zeroes.”

“I-I know, sir, but—”

“I have six of the best scientists specialized in the study of metahumans working for my company, and not even then do I get the results I need in a reasonable amount of time!”

Okay, so Tetherby was working with scientists that were experts in metahumans. Made sense, he would certainly need something like that to develop weapons to neutralize heroes. But, had they just mentioned “two months”? Had they been developing a new weapon since Ace Savvy’s death?

The scientists stayed quiet after their boss’ outburst, until one of them, a woman wearing glasses, found the courage to look up and reply.

“We understand your needs, sir, but nine pregnant women can’t make a baby in a month.”

A security guard let out a chuckle, causing Tetherby to turn around with fire in his eyes, focused on him.

“Uh, I’ll, uh, I’ll go take a quick look at the perimeter,” the man said, leaving in a hurry.

Tetherby sighed and turned to look at the woman. “I don’t understand. You always take much less time to finish these preliminary studies. Why, with all this expensive technology I’ve bought for you, you can’t get the usual results?”

“This case is like no other,” said who was apparently named Morgan. “Usually, it’s simple to identify the genome causing the mutation to turn regular human beings into metahumans. But in this case… it doesn’t seem to be the consequence of a genome.”

I had no clue of what was going on, but the silent and anxious looks the scientists were giving each other made me think that those words meant a lot to them.

“Are you saying that he wasn’t a metahuman?” Asked Tetherby, sounding less angry and more curious.

“Oh, no, the studies prove without a shadow of a doubt that he was a metahuman,” the woman replied. “But we believe that the mutation didn’t occur as the product of a modification of the metahuman genome.”

“And what other explanation is there?”

A scientist that hadn’t yet spoken raised his hand to stroke his chin.

“Impossible to know. There have always been rumors of soviet and Asian experimentation trying to manufacture metahumans, but nothing that has ever been recorded on the trustworthy scientific literature. The safest assumption would be that he managed to get in direct contact with the cosmic explosion in the eighties that released the energy wave over the planet, but there are no records of any human that had been anywhere relatively close to the explosion itself, so it’s not a feasible theory. It’s premature to suggest any hypothesis…”

He made a pause like he had something to say but was considering whether it was a good idea to say it or not. Tetherby noticed it just like me.

“But?”

“But… the rise of the new Ace Savvy has some interesting ramifications to our studies.”

That man had singlehandedly risen my attention to its peak. I leaned down, like those extra four inches would help me listen better.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, whatever the mutation or genetic modification the original Ace Savvy had, this kid seems to have it, too. The metahuman genome has a certain hereditary component, but the effects tend to be random. So even if the rumors of him being his son were true, the possibility that their powers are the result of a natural modification is very thin. We believe… that there might be a chance that these powers are artificially achieved alterations.”

I suddenly understood that the conversation was about Tetherby Industries running an investigation on Ace Savvy. Something regarding the origin of his powers. And somehow, those scientists were correctly deducing that both Ace Savvys had gotten our powers from whatever that shining cube was.

“Hold on a second, egghead,” said Tetherby, moving a hand to his temple, like he was thinking too fast for his old-man brain. “Are you telling me that there’s an Ace Savvy making machine somewhere?”

“It’s just a hypothesis,” explained the woman, “we can’t even assume it’s a machine. It could be anything.”

“A chamber that manages to manipulate the residual cosmic energy in the atmosphere.”

“A radioactive element.”

“A supersoldier serum.”

“Stop reading comics, Morgan.”

“Silence! Why is this a theory and not something you found in your analysis?”

“The samples we received weren’t big enough for us to explore all the possibilities, we had to limit ourselves to the standard procedures. If we could perhaps get a hand on bigger samples—”

“That’s out of the question,” said Tetherby, sounding pissed. “It cost me a fortune and I had to ask a lot of favors to get those hairs. You’ll have to work with what you have.”

“If that’s the case, then I’m afraid there’s not much else we can do,” lamented Egghead.

The boss snorted and began walking around in circles over the platform, a hand behind his back and the other one stroking his second chin.

“In all these years, there was never even a word about Ace Savvy having a sidekick. He might have trained him in secret, but that’s not his style. Even if the rumors about him being his son are true… are you sure there’s no way he inherited his powers?”

“It’s certainly possible, but highly unlikely.”

“Very well… very well… If Ace Savvy and this punk didn’t get their powers like everyone else… Could this explain why he was never affected by Royal Wood’s curse?”

The scientists shifted uncomfortably on their place.

“Well… we don’t like to talk about it as a curse,” the woman explained. “There’s no scientific basis to explain what happens, but to give it a paranormal explanation goes against—”

“Yes, yes, don’t bore me with your rhetoric,” Tetherby interrupted her. “The point is that it makes sense. And if it’s true that there’s a way to create new metahumans with Ace Savvy’s skillsets… Goddammit, this is a goldmine!”

“Sir, this is but a theory, we can’t—”

“I thought studying Ace Savvy’s samples would give us something interesting to study, but I never imagined something like this,” he continued. “Oh, Ace, and here I thought our relationship had ended when that bastard of William shot you. Who would have thought your death would open so many doors for me?”

he rubbed his hands like he was getting ready to eat a feast. I could almost see the drool running down his lips.

“This changes everything. We need to find out the source of this power. Morgan!”

“Sir?”

“Fetch me some doses of the truth serum, would you?”

“Technically it’s not a truth serum, just an inhibitor of—”

“You know what I mean!” He hollered, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “Damn scientists and their technicalities… Just do it. If we’re gonna explore Ace Savvys past, there’s someone we need to pay a visit to.”

I was getting unnerved. This was not what I was hoping to find out tonight. I had intended to simply infiltrate the facility and find the weapons that had killed Ace. I had never imagined that I would be hearing a conversation like this. Scientists studying Ace Savvy’s DNA. Them correctly guessing the existence of the cube. And those last ominous words, perhaps foreboding a new objective for Tetherby Industries.

Part of me was considering that maybe there had been some truth to Nova’s words, that maybe I was starting to get involved in things too big for me, beyond my hero tier. Tetherby had projects and ambitions that preceded me by several decades, and what to me had been a pivotal moment in my life, for him it had just been a Sunday. I was just a pawn inside the great game of chess the man was running, and staying around to play could be a catastrophic failure.

Yeah, I think it’s fair to say that, most likely, right then I was ready to turn around and follow Nova’s advice, staying away from Tetherby. I would have, honestly, if not for the sirens that blared inside the complex.

“ _ ATTENTION. ATTENTION. INTRUDER DETECTED. INTRUDER DETECTER. _ ”

As the artificial voice of a computer echoed in the warehouse, I felt every nerve of my body shaking. My stealth check had been a failure. I looked around me. The guards were running to their positions, standing in front of each entrance and forming a circle around Tetherby. One of them, who wasn’t wearing any gun, sprinted towards a squared container and began typing a code in the control panel.

Oddly enough, no one seemed to be looking in my direction.

“Show me,” simply said Tetherby, his hands closing around the top of his cane and turning to see the computers.

The big screen showed the feed from a security camera, and I suddenly felt like passing out.

The camera was zooming to focus on a small figure that was struggling to climb over the perimetral fence of the building, falling prone after slipping from the top. The camera didn’t catch his face, but I didn’t need it to know who it was. That hair, those clothes…

Clyde was sneaking inside the complex.

“It’s just a kid,” said the security guard next to Tetherby. “Probably just trying to paint graffiti on a wall or steal a tire.”

“Damn punks. Send someone to take care of him.”

“Yes, sir,” said the guard, grabbing a radio. “James, Hiro, go to sector six to deal with a kid, over.”

A few seconds of silence.

“James, Hiro, do you copy? Over.”

More silence. Tetherby raised an eyebrow, and the guard just shrugged.

“James, Hiro, go to sector six right away, there’s a trespasser, over.”

“ _J-James here!_ ” Replied a very agitated voice. “ _We’re coming. I mean! We’re going. Over._ ”

“Copied. Over and out.”

This was bad, this was very, very, very bad. Two armed guards were being sent to “take care” of my brother. What the hell was Clyde doing there? Why wasn’t he sleeping? How did he get there? What was he trying to do? Everything felt surreal, I didn’t understand anything. It was like another one of my dreams: I was just a passive spectator.

But this wasn’t a dream. This was real life, and my brother was about to be faced by Tetherby Industries’ guards. I needed to get there asap. There was no other option. I searched for a quick exit, a window maybe, but the only windows were near the ceiling, and they were covered with bricks.

“So long for being stealthy,” I resignedly said, standing up on the metal truss.

With one hand, I activated my grappling-hook, throwing it to another truss, but I didn’t activate the pulling mechanism, I just jumped, using the cable as a swing to speed up towards one of the bricked windows. When I was halfway there, I took an explosive card and threw it at my objective.

The small explosion seemed to shake the whole wall. It didn’t blow up a big hole between the bricks as I expected, but the damage was evident, with several bricks broken in several parts and some small holes leading outside. Enough for me.

Unfortunately, the explosion was the exact opposite of subtle.

“There, on the roof!”

“It’s Ace Savvy!”

“Code Red!”

“Stop him! Don’t let him get away!” Tetherby ordered.

By the time they noticed me, however, I was already flying at full speed into the damaged bricks. Hoping that my mental math was correct, I crossed my arms in the shape of an X over my face, and at the last second, I kicked with all my might. The combination of speed and energy on the impact was enough to tear down the wall, and my movement’s inertia allowed me to go through. Some pieces of brick hit my forearms and my head, but I was too scared and desperate to feel pain.

I barely managed to hear one last yell as I exited the warehouse.

“Deploy the Meta-Basher! STOP HIM AT ALL COSTS!”

My fall was very, very painful. I rolled to try and reduce the impact, but even then I felt the bones in my legs, arms, and thorax being compressed to their limit. I groaned out loud, but I didn’t have any time to lose. I started to run as fast as I could to the place I had seen in the cameras.

When I turned around a corner of the building I found myself facing two approaching guards, probably trying to find the source of the explosion.

“It’s Ace Savvy!”

“Freeze!”

They tried to point their weapons at me, but they weren’t quick enough. I ran between them and slid like I was trying to reach the base on a baseball match. As I did it, I stretched my hand and grabbed them both by their wrists, immediately pulling them in my direction as hard as I could. They weren’t ready for it, so they stumbled to the middle, their heads violently crashing into each other and passing out right behind me.

“Hey, stop right there!”

Another good spotted me from a distance. I wouldn’t get to his position to fight in melee before he shot me, so I simply grabbed an electric Ace, let it charge for a few seconds as I continued moving to my objective, and as soon as the buzzing told me that it was charged enough, I threw it. The guy tried to dodge it, but the card hit his stomach, and I saw him shaking for a few seconds before he fell to the ground, paralyzed.

I kept running, neutralizing all the guards that, taken by surprise, couldn’t react in time to stop me. That’s how I kept advancing, and soon enough I found Clyde. He had his back against some wooden crates, looking positively terrified. He was wearing his pajama pants, some regular sneakers, and a winter jacket. What the hell was he thinking?

There were two security guards in front of him, and even though I only saw their profile, I was painfully aware of who they were. They were the two dudes that had gotten all touchy and PDA underneath me. They looked disheveled and their uniforms were all messed up. One of them seemed to had forgotten to put on his socks.

“This is private property, kid!”

“What you’re doing is illegal, you’re gonna get in a lot of trouble with the police.”

“I-I-I d-don’t, I d-didn’t know! I h-h-had no idea…”

“No excuses!”

One of them took a step forward and stretched an arm to grab Clyde by his shoulders, and that’s all I needed to give my hundred percent out. I wasn’t going to let any goon touch my brother. Especially not those dirty hands, that I didn’t even want to think about what they had been touching a few minutes ago.

The first guy never knew what hit him. My right fist crashed right on the side of his face, sending him flying several feet back, knocked the heck out. The other guard tried to react, but I was faster. Turning around on my axis, I did a spinning wheel kick to take the gun out of his hand, getting it far away from him and making sure that it wouldn’t accidentally aim at Clyde. With the same move I kicked his knee to make him lose balance, then I punched him twice on the chest, and just in case, a brutal hook to the chin.

Within seconds, both guards had been taken out of the fight. The immediate threat to Clyde was over, but I didn’t know how many more guards would come to try to stop us.

“Y-You!” Said Clyde, staring at me in disbelief.

I grabbed him by his shoulders and dragged him behind the crates, trying to get some privacy.

“What are you doing here?! This is so dangerous!”

“I-Is that you, Lincoln?”

The question shattered my insides. I closed my eyes and moaned out loud, looking up at the sky. Why did I do everything wrong?

“Good golly Miss Molly!” He said, suddenly sounding a bit more cheered up, though he was still distressed and a bit apprehensive. “It all makes sense now!”

At that point, I had to accept the fact that my secret was ruined. Weeks of lying non-stop were finally catching up and turning against me, in the worst demonstration of karma ever. Why now? Why here? I didn’t have the imagination or time to come up with any new lie to get myself out of that situation.

“Clyde, why aren’t you home?” I asked him, mortified.

“I wanted to know where you were! I’ve noticed you always get up at night, and today I tried to see what you were up to, but you weren’t home! I was worried sick!”

“How did you even find me here?”

“I found this address in the attic.”

I covered my face with both hands, hoping for the Earth to split beneath me and drag me into Erebus, ending this pathetic excuse of a hero.

“This is bad, this is  _ so _ bad…”

“How did you even become a hero? How....? How is this possible?”

“Clyde, listen to me, there’s no time, we need to—”

An explosion shook the night. The fire lighted up the clouds, painting the night in the warm shades of orange and red. I instinctively grabbed Clyde by his jacket and pulled him into me.

“What was that?”

I didn’t answer him. I took a peek over the crate just in time to see an arc of light approaching our position at full speed.

“WATCH OUT!”

Using every ounce of strength that I had left, I tossed Clyde away from me, just in time to make sure he avoided the explosion of the crates we were hiding behind. The sheer force of the impact propelled me on the air several feet until my back crashed against a metal container. Some kindling and splinters hit my body, but I barely suffered some superficial cuts on my face.

It took the air out of me, however, so I dropped to my knees as I took a few seconds to catch my breath. When I looked up, the image before me was terrifying.

One of the hangar walls had been obliterated, and in the process, some gas pipes must have blown up, since that localized area was burning up. The blazes gave it a baleful, destructive atmosphere, reflecting and illuminating the figure that stood among the fire and the flames like a herald of hell.

The figure itself was just a guy wearing a suit. But the suit wasn’t, like, a blazer —even though it was on fire—, but rather a twenty feet mecha suit that looked like a human tank. It had four robotic limbs, with some kind of wide bracelets that seemed to carry different weapons inside. The torso of the exoskeleton was rather round at the top, and it held the cabin where the pilot controlled it. I could see his face since the shoulders and heads of the mecha suit were a crystal dome.

It took a step forward, and the pilot talked to me through speakers.

“ _ Ace Savvy. You’re under arrest for invasion and damages to private property, aggravated assault, and abuse of powers under article 7.B of the Metahuman Criminal Code. Surrender now or face the consequences. _ ”


	8. Critical failure

Some people see themselves obtaining better results when they're under pressure. Maybe they feel more comfortable kicking a penalty shot to secure the championship, or they make a better job on their homework when they get it done the night before delivering it. The extra pressure is a way for them to push themselves to give their one hundred percent, to get to that point where failure is not an option, so they only get the best result possible, end of discussion.

I had never considered myself part of that specific group of people, but finding myself standing in front of a twenty-feel tall, anti-metahumans robot with intentions of ravaging me to oblivion, I could only pray that I was indeed pretty good at acting under pressure.

Everything was happening too fast, so the first thing I did was trying to calm myself and analyze the situation as objectively and smart as I possibly could, trying to find the most logical, reasonable way to get out of the tough spot I was at. Very well then, what did my situation look like? For starters, my brother had figured out my secret identity as a superhero after following me into the very lair of a villain that had quite possibly caused Ace Savvy's death, and after I neutralized an important number of armed goons, a mecha suit on fire was ready to destroy me.

Dang it, how could I possibly be calm?! The whole operation had gone to hell! Everything that could have gone wrong went even worse than my deepest nightmares! I had no time to calm myself down, my top priority was to get Clyde to safety, making sure he got out of this unharmed, and best-case scenario, not die in the process.

" _Last warning, Ace Savvy_ ," the pilot repeated, taking one step forward. Even though I can't say that I felt the ground shake when the heavy mecha-foot made contact with it, the sound it caused made it clear that it wasn't exactly lightweight. " _Turn yourself in right now or we'll be forced to put you down_."

I was definitely not gonna give in. That was out of the question. And I couldn't just let them capture Clyde, or my secret identity and my family's well-being would be compromised and put at deadly risk. My only options were to either fight or flight. But, could I successfully fight against a robotic suit design to eliminate metahumans? So far I had only faced regular people. Adults, yeah, but they were still just commonfolk. The original Ace Savvy had fought several kinds of villains and supervillains throughout his glorious career, some even stronger and more threatening than what this robot looked like.

But I wasn't the original Ace Savvy.

There was only one sensible course of action, then. Breathing in before doing what could potentially become the greatest mistake of my life, I rushed to grab two smoke cards and threw them around me, creating a smokescreen to hide my position. I took several steps to the side just in case, not wanting to receive a direct shot just for standing still, and then I immediately grabbed as many explosive cards as I could handle, throwing them towards my enemy. Not waiting for them to impact, I took one more and ran to Clyde.

The Aces were small, thin projectiles moving fast in the middle of the night, so I'm sure the pilot couldn't see them until it was far too late. I heard the explosions, one right after the other in a fast percussion rhythm, with the horrible sound they made against the steel. I didn't want to turn around to see the result; as soon as I got out of my own smokescreen, I went to grab Clyde, who was scared senseless on his knees, wrapping his arms around his head.

"Come on!" I yelled, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him up in one move. The metal fence was right behind us, so I dragged him to it. I threw the explosive card I had in my hand, causing enough destruction to open a hole big enough for my brother and me to crawl through.

I would have appreciated it if he ran as fast as I did, but even though he was doing it as his life depended on it —which was probably true—, it felt like he was more worried about not tripping and falling face-first to the ground. There was nothing I could do to make him go faster, however, so I just kept dragging him as fast as I could through the street, looking for an alley to sneak away and disappear into the night.

I heard a strange sound behind my back, like some fireworks moving up into the sky, with fire trails behind them impulsing them at full speed.

"Watch out!" Screamed Clyde, forcing me to turn around and take a look. Just in time to see what seemed to be two small rockets flying after us.

"Take cover!" I said to him, letting his wrist go and stopping my running. The missiles were coming at us impossibly fast, turning in circles in the air, like they were rotating around an imaginary axis aimed at me. Or at least one of them seemed to be aimed at me. The other one was flying higher and seemed to be going further down the street.

Ignoring the one that didn't present an immediate threat to my life, I decided to do what I had seen Ace Savvy do many times before when he fought enemies that had ranged weapons, up to the night of his death. I grabbed a regular Ace, and after calculating the trajectory and movement for a few instants, I threw my card in a straight line, hitting the first projectile.

The explosion was much bigger than I would have imagined, considering that the missile didn't seem to be bigger than a two-liter soda bottle. The resulting explosion lit up the entire street, and a few seconds later, the second rocket did the same as it blew up a parked car and set it on fire.

"Are you okay?" I asked, desperately turning to look for my brother.

"Y-Yeah!" He answered, peeking out from behind a mailbox, sweating, and looking more anxious than I had ever seen him.

I wanted to go near him and check how he was doing first hand, but a new sound similar to that of the rockets but much deeper reached my ears, and I had to turn around to make sure they hadn't just launched a nuke to kill me.

The good news was that it wasn't a nuke. The bad news was that the effing mecha suit had thrusters on its back and feet, and it was moving towards me surprisingly fast. I assumed it would stop about sixty feet away from me to give out a machiavellian monologue and explain the futility of my efforts and how my lack of motivation would lead me to a foretold demise. This guy though had no sense of theatricality, so he just kept moving through the air at full speed towards me, raising one of its big, threatening fists.

It was unusually fast for something as big and robust, but my reflexes and superhuman dexterity were more than enough to make a backflip and easily avoid becoming a crater, unlike the street where I was just standing.

" _I'll be honest, kid_ ," the pilot said, looking at me from the cabin as the suit stood up, " _I was hoping you wouldn't surrender. I've been meaning to test this baby against a real meta for months_."

"How is it so far?"

" _The response time isn't ideal, to be honest. There's a little delay between my commands and the movements_."

"What's your ping like?"

" _About a hundred and sixty_."

"Your technology sucks," I said, raising an eyebrow. What kind of computer had 160 ping?

" _Your mask sucks!_ "

It launched forward once again, trying to hit me with the other arm. I waited until the last second to jump, not letting it hit my legs. I fell on top of the fist, and I immediately began running all the way up the arm, going straight to the cabin. I took a glance at the suit, noticing the small dents and powder marks where my cards had hit it. I had damaged it, yes, but who knew how many more explosive cards would I need to break it? Those Red Aces were without a doubt the most powerful assets I had at my disposal, so if those weren't enough, then brute force wasn't the best approach to win this fight.

I planned to run up the robot's arm to get closer to the pilot's cabin and test how resistant the glass was, but I didn't count with the suit's torso to have autonomous movement from the waist down and the legs. Without any warning, the whole upper half of the mecha suit rotated on its axis, causing enough centrifugal force to throw me out. Everything was spinning around me for a confusing moment where I couldn't orient myself, but my sense of balance was sharper than usual, so I managed to turn my torso to fall on my heels, dragging a few inches before stopping.

I looked up just in time to see a heavy metal hand trying to karate chop me in half. I rolled aside, but as I was getting ready to grab an Ace and throw it to the cabin, the arm hit the ground and then swept horizontally, hitting me straight on the side of my torso.

It was like a ram charging at me, and it sent me several feet up the air. My back hit a brick wall, but it was nothing compared to the pain that the first hit made me feel. I didn't think I had any broken ribs, but I could feel my bones straining to stay together and not break under the force of the impact.

"Ace!"

Clyde's voice shook me out of my painful, stunning state. I opened my eyes and noticed the robot getting closer with its hand open, probably trying to grab me. Those hands were massive, and it could easily grip my entire body and restrain me if it managed to get to me.

" _Gotcha!_ " He said, stretching his arm to me.

"Too slow!" I taunted, moving fast to avoid getting caught.

The pilot smiled and tried to repeat the same movement, spinning the torso at full speed to try to hit me with the back of the hand, but I wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. I let myself fall back, and I saw the hand sweeping inches above my nose. Before my back touched the ground, I stretched my arms to muffle my fall and push me on my feet once again. The torso and the arms could move at breakneck speed, but such a heavy suit would require special attention to its legs being grounded.

I ran for a few steps before sliding on the ground right between its legs, quickly reaching the back of the suit. That side was just as robust and protected as the front, but I could see some flexible conduits that were probably part of some sort of hydraulic system to get the robot's movements right. If the mecha suit had any obvious weakness, that had to be it.

" _Where did you go?_ "

"On your left!" I said, moving to its right.

The fool fell for my trick, turning in the opposite direction. That left me with a tiny window of action to climb to its back and grab one of the conduits. I began to pull as hard as I could, but even though I could sense that I was taking it to its limit, I couldn't get to unplug it.

" _What do you think you're doing?!_ "

It tried to punch me, but the arms wouldn't reach the back of it. I placed both my feet against its back and tried to pull once again, using all my weight to try to pry it open, and suddenly, a micro-perforation was torn, letting out a small, high pressured gas leak.

" _Stop that!_ "

I kept pulling, trying to rip that thing off no matter what, but the suit began to shake, and the thrusters on its feet were activated, sending us full speed against the nearby brick building. I had to jump at the last second to avoid being crushed by six tons of steel.

The wall was absolutely demolished, with many bricks flying through the air, many of them hitting me hard in the head. I fell painfully on my back, but I couldn't waste a single second. I stood up, and the mecha suit got out of the building it had just destroyed.

" _I must confess, Ace, you're pretty agile_ ," the pilot said. " _Too skillful for this prototype to catch you in melee combat. Unfortunately for you, the scientists at Tetherby Industries took these possible scenarios into account_."

It stretched both of its arms forward, with its closed fists pointing at me. Two compartments on its forearms opened up, showing two small cannons with glowing lights inside.

"Oh, come on!" I complained, throwing my arms open.

The exoskeleton simply shrugged its shoulders before it charged up some kind of energy. Two electric sounds began to ring in the middle of the night, getting sharper and sharper as they charged up, similarly to how my Electric Aces worked. The glowing within the gun muzzles kept growing as well, until finally, with some recoil on the entire arms, both weapons shot energy beams at me.

I had no idea what was the nature of those attacks, but it didn't take a genius to realize that getting hit by them would be, at the very least, pretty painful. I managed to duck aside to dodge them, but the force of the impact on the street beside me was strong enough to break the asphalt and my balance for a second.

I hoped it would take it some time to charge its second round of attacks, but I had barely finished that thought when the pilot shot back at me. With no real way of jumping in time, I took my grappling hook gun to get to the opposite sidewalk. I swung fast, but the robot kept shooting, destroying the entire street and the front of all the nearby buildings.

"AAAAGH!"

That scream made me turn around. Clyde jumped just in time to avoid blowing up like the mailbox he had been hiding behind. He was now crawling next to a car to find some cover. My heart was pounding inside my chest as I tried to figure out a way to solve the predicament I was in. Every second the skirmish continued was a new possibility for my brother to get hurt. I needed to find a way of ending the encounter as soon as possible, or at the very least, getting Clyde away from collateral damage and cross-fire.

The pilot kept shooting at me, so I was forced to use my grappling hook to go high into the roof of a three-story building. I stood on the ledge and then proceeded to scrutinize my opponent. The conduits were a clear, evident, _obvious_ weakness, but what else could I use in my favor to leave this fight victorious? I tried to think logically. The steel cuirass that covered the torso was evidently prepared to resist my assaults, but there was simply no way that _every_ part of it was just as indestructible. He had to be your typical boss fight in a game, with a strong, impenetrable defense but weak points to exploit.

I thought about its movements. The torso moved like a spinning top, almost independently from the legs and the bottom half of it. The only way to achieve such fluid and fast moves would be to have a very precise and minimal joint between both parts. And I could, in fact, see a small gap, a separation between the torso and the waist. Too small for even my hand to fit in, but with enough space for a well-thrown explosive card to get inside.

It was an almost impossible shot, but I had to try it. Through the various weeks that I had spent as a superhero, I was still yet to miss a single Ace that I threw. This was, perhaps, my only chance of turning the tides of this confrontation.

" _You're only delaying the inevitable_ ," the pilot told me, once again pointing at me with its wrist guns.

I took out an explosive card, squinting my eyes and staring firmly at the pilot, trying to picture his smile behind the mask he was wearing. Did he really one of those, like he was a war pilot? Maybe the suit was designed to fight underwater or up in the sky, I wouldn't know.

After a dragged out staring contest in which we seemed to be measuring each other, he was the first one to attack, shooting two new beams into the ledge I was standing on. Having been expecting so, I leaped forward, avoiding being hit and throwing my card to its impossible destination. I could almost hear the original Ace Savvy's voice reaching me, whispering from beyond the grave to help me achieve my goal.

" _Lincoln, use the Force_ ," it told me.

The card flew through the air, but my opponent's turn wasn't done yet.

" _I got you now_ ," he said, and right away, a plaque on its chest opened up, showing what seemed to be three rocket launchers.

My eyes flew open. I was definitely not expecting that, and now I found myself in the middle of the air, with no way of moving out of the way or dodging them. The first cannon fired towards me, sending a rocket just like the ones I'd seen at the beginning of the chase.

The second and third cannons were ready to fire, but my card got there first. It went right inside the small gap that separated the torso from the legs, and the resulting explosion shook the entire suit. The pilot yelled, and the robot fell to its knees just as the remaining rockets shot away. The second one went astray down the street and the third one exploded right between the suit's legs, blowing up in a flare that surrounded its entire body and knocked it prone.

The first missile was rocketing straight at me, so without much time to react, I barely managed to take an Ace and threw it at it so the explosion happened four feet ahead of me and not right in my chest. I crossed my forearms in front of my face and bared myself for impact, but milliseconds before the explosion, a sharp, terrified cry stopped my heart.

"CLY—!" I meant to scream my brother's name, but the card hit the rocket, and the resulting explosion consumed me.

I felt an unbearable heat on my arms and the mask that covered my head. The sheer force of the explosion shook my entire body, and I plummeted to the ground, falling on my shoulders and hitting my head hard against the sidewalk.

The violence of the crash made me dizzy, and for the longest seconds, everything around me was reduced to one big, black mass of nothingness. I couldn't make out a single shape as colorful stars danced under my eyelids. There was also no sound, only an obnoxiously loud ringing in my ear that seemed to come from inside my skull, which hurt like someone was stabbing me with hot knives.

All the muscles in my body felt like they were about to strain, either painfully stretched out or contracted hard like stones. My existence was reduced to a perpetual state of unbearable pain, and for a few fateful seconds, I wondered if I was about to die.

That thought was like an adrenaline injection that shook me out of my catatonic state. I slowly gained back my vision, the black spots being pushed to just the corner of my eyes. I blinked a few times and took notice of my surroundings. The hot air around me was covered in dust and rubbish, with different fires left and right. I rolled over, face down on the sidewalk, and with a lot of pain, I used my forearms to push myself up.

"C-Clyde?" I called out, looking for him.

It didn't take long for me to find him, but oh, how I wished I hadn't seen what I saw.

My brother's body was lying next to a completely broken car that was set on fire. And it didn't seem to be moving.

Some say the soul weighs twenty-one grams. I'm no scientist, but I'm convinced the weight is much, much heavier. My soul left my body the moment I saw Clyde, and when it did, my body went from being a load too heavy to carry for my bones to be as light as a feather. Every fiber in my body was still squirming in pain, but I was able to stand up like nothing was wrong, limping in his direction as I recovered my leg's motor skills.

"Clyde, Clyde, are you okay?" I asked, falling on my knees next to him.

Even though I was right next to a burning car, my whole body was shaking cold, like my blood had been replaced with liquid nitrogen, freezing my insides. His jacket was destroyed, ripped, and burnt. He was face down against the floor, his back to me.

With a horrible sense of dread, I gently took him by his shoulders, put him on my lap, and turned him around.

The moment I saw his face, I gasped, and tears began to fall. His mouth was open, and his entire face was covered with small cuts, slashes, bruises, and burns. His glasses, however, were broken, and his left eye was swollen and bleeding, spilling blood all over his face.

"No, no, no, no, please, no," I bawled with the last of my breath. I put a hand on his cheek, staining my hand with my brother's blood. "Clyde, please, wake up! Clyde! Clyde!"

No sound. No movement.

"No! No, no! Wake up! Wake up!"

A horrible metallic sound forced me to turn around. Even as I held my brother's inert body tight on my lap, I saw the robot standing up. The damage was evident. It had lost a huge chunk on one of its legs, and the plaque that covered the rocket launchers had been shattered.

" _YoOoUu ss-s-sOoN oF AAa_ —" the pilot said, the voice coming out of the speakers all messed up. It raised an arm in my direction, with sparks coming out of each joint, and the energy cannon began to glow up once again.

I had already given up. I had neither the strength nor the will to keep fighting or run away. With tears falling down my face, I held tight to my brother's body, my arms shaking the whole time, and I waited for my execution.

The gun's ringing became louder and louder until it suddenly went quiet. For an instant, it was as if it had absorbed every sound in the atmosphere. An endless silence surrounded us until the weapon shot, and the beam of light, energy, and death advanced straight at me.

As I saw my ending approaching, the only thing I could think of was that I had failed Ace Savvy once again.

To my utter and absolute surprise, however, a new car moved from the opposite sidewalk, floating a foot above the ground, standing like a wall between the robot and me. The energy beam hit the car, shattering the windows and breaking a door. There was no one inside, and in my stupor, I couldn't comprehend what was going on.

A few seconds later, everything made sense. Falling from the sky, a figure stood between the car and me. A girl wearing a green and white spandex suit, with locks of her blonde hair twirling like they were alive, and both hands extended to the car. With a roar, the girl took a step back and then leaned forward, moving her arms like she was pushing the car.

Even though she wasn't touching it, the car was catapulted into the robot. It would have hit it right in the cabin, but the pilot managed to move the arms to catch the chassis mid-air. He must have thought he had avoided the danger, but the car it had in its hands didn't let him see the figure surrounded by a blue aura of energy that fell from the sky like a meteor.

"HYYYA!"

The energy aura left the body and focused entirely on the right fist of this new girl, who was wearing a spandex suit with different shades of blue and white. She gave him an incredible punch that ripped the car in half and let out a flare of blue energy, hitting the robot and pushing it five feet in the air.

Perhaps because of the concussion, or maybe because I thought I was about to die, but it took me a second to comprehend what was going on. And when I did, I couldn't believe it.

"Eclipse! Nova!" I said, incredulous.

Eclipse, still standing in front of me, turned to look at me. I didn't see in her the warm, compassionate eyes that I saw back when she talked to me at the cemetery. Her eyes were serious and filled with determination, focused on her heroic duty.

"We'll handle this!" She said, waving a hand in my direction. My whole body felt light all of a sudden, and both Clyde and I moved swiftly through the air, resting softly away from the action.

The mecha-suit was trying to stand up when Nova, surrounded once again by her full aura, began pummeling it non-stop. Each hit let out a small flare, denting the robot's armor. The pilot tried to counterattack, but Nova moved in the air like a flying ninja, dodging each hit and striking back.

She didn't know how the suit worked, though, and feeling confident after avoiding a direct hit, she received a terrible punch to the face from the other hand after the robot's torso spun at full speed. The hit tossed Nova through the air into a window, which she would have broken right through if it wasn't because Eclipse rushed to her, extending a hand and suspending her in the air inches before she touched the glass.

"That was so rude!" Eclipse complained, flying several feet in the air and raising both hands. Right away, all the debris that my battle against the robot had created shot up from the ground to where she was. Bricks, car parts, glass shards, pieces of concrete, they all orbited her like an asteroid belt around a planet.

The pilot aimed both arms at Eclipse and began to shoot. She made a small movement with her hand like she was just trying to push away a fly, and different pieces of rubble intercepted the energy beam. After a few rounds of this, she put both hands over her head and violently pushed them down towards the villain.

A tempest of shards, bricks, mailboxes, and burning car parts fell upon the robotic suit like a rain of destruction and chaos. I could see a steel bar penetrating the cabin, making a hole in the cristal and stopping right next to the pilot's face, who let out a shriek.

He must have been desperate since he decided to shoot all three of its rockets at Eclipse. Right away, Nova recovered from the punch to the face she had endured, extending an open palm. The aura that surrounded her whole body went to that palm, and then it shot out like a column of blueish fire. It managed to hit two of the missiles that blew up in the air, but one of them got away, flying to Eclipse.

She didn't move, and for a second I thought she'd take the hit, but three feet before it hit her, the rocket stopped dead in the air. The back of it was still letting out smoke and a small flame, but it wasn't propelling forward. Without the hero doing any move at all, the missile turned 180º in the air before rocketing back where it came from.

The mecha suit took the hit right on the chest, stumbling backward as it tried to keep its balance.

"Nova, now!"

Without wasting a single second, Nova flew until it was hovering right in front of the robot. Stopping next to its metallic knees, she crouched down with her arms and knees close to her chest, almost in a fetal position. Her aura shone with the intensity of a tiny Sun, and after a few seconds, Nova extended her limbs, releasing all the energy she had accumulated in an explosion centered in her.

The flames were intense and powerful enough to shatter the rest of the cabin's glass, and the previously damaged knee was completely obliterated. The mecha suit felt back, useless, and defeated.

Nova also fell on her knees, like she was having trouble catching her breath. Her energy aura disappeared, and she stopped hovering. She was panting, and for the first time, she looked vulnerable.

The pilot crawled out of the cabin. He was now standing in front of Nova and Eclipse, the latter slowly gliding to him.

"Y-You know, with the benefit of hindsight…"

Eclipse didn't let him finish. She twirled a finger and the pilot's mask stretched eight inches away from its face, the elastic straps still holding tight behind his head. She moved her finger back again, and the mask snapped back into place, hitting the guy right in his face, knocking him out cold.

I saw Eclipse sigh and approach her sister, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, don't worry," said Nova, and the blue flames appeared around her body again, covering it with a soft, glowing halo of energy.

And then, they both turned in my direction.

All the action had happened so fast, so much so that part of me was still processing it. Even so, as stunning as their display of power had been, it was hard to feel excited when I was carrying the wounded, bloodied body of my adoptive brother, my best friend. The tears had never stopped running down.

They both flew in my direction, their golden manes waving in the wind. They knelt next to me, taking a look at the child's body I carried on my lap. Nova put two fingers on Clyde's neck.

"Eclipse, lay him down, fast," she demanded.

I felt Clyde's body moving out of my grip. My instinctive reaction was to tighten my grip on him, but I soon realized that these were Eclipse's powers, so I let her move him. I thought she'd gently put him on the ground, but instead, she made him hover like he was lying on an invisible table.

To my absolute shock, Nova took Clyde's face and applied mouth-to-mouth breathing while one of her hands lit up with blue energy and she pressed it against my brother's chest. She kept going for a few seconds until she pressed a bit further, and Clyde's chest seemed to absorb the energy. His whole body shook, and Nova moved away, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

"Eclipse, take him to the hospital right away. He's stable but needs urgent medical attention."

A huge sense of relief washed over me, and I let out what seemed to be two weeks' worth of air in my lungs. I thought I'd lost him. I thought I had killed Clyde just like I killed Ace Savvy.

Eclipse didn't seem to share my relief though. She looked at me with great, evident pain and worry in her eyes, and then she turned to look at her sister. She studied her for a few instants, before taking a step closer to me and putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Nova, he didn't—"

"Eclipse, take this kid to the hospital. _Now_ ," she interrupted, standing up. Eclipse hugged me tighter.

"It was an accident, he didn't mean for this to happen!"

"I said take him away!"

Nova's aura flared up for a second. Eclipse gave me one last look before she let go of me and nodded. She moved her hand, and Clyde's body moved closer to her before they both flew away into the night, leaving me alone with Nova.

"Hold on, I need to go!" I said, trying to run after them, but instead, I ran into Nova's immovable arm. I looked at her, and for the first time, I noticed she had an ugly bruise on her right cheek, with a small cut where a thin line of blood poured from.

"I _clearly_ told you to stay away from Tetherby," she harshly spat at me. "What the hell did you think you'd do?"

"I-I…" I had to clear my throat, rubbing my forearm against my eyes to wipe out the tears. "N-Nova, listen, T-Tetherby, h-h-he's got a plan to—"

"I don't care what you think you know!" She said, pushing a finger to my chest, sending me one foot back. "Do you have any idea of what you've done?!"

"N-Nova—"

"Look around you!" She opened her arms wide, pointing at the burning, destroyed street. "You've caused thousands of dollars in damages! You've alerted Tetherby that we've been after him!"

"We?"

"You attacked his secret lab, so now he's gonna find a new lair to keep all his secret experiments! How are we gonna find them now, huh? Do you think this is a game? Do you think being a hero is all fun and games?"

"Of course not!"

"Then stop acting like a child!" She yelled, her aura glowing brighter. "The day you put on the mask and went out to fight, you stopped being a kid! You're a hero now, and you need to act like one! This job is dangerous, demanding, and if you don't take it seriously you can end up killing someone! It would have been a tragedy if you died, but if it wasn't for me and Eclipse, that other kid would have been dead too!"

She was absolutely right, of course. And that reality was so undeniable and heavy that it left me speechless. I had nothing to say against it. My silence seemed to upset her even more.

"Is that it? Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I…" The words wouldn't come to me. All I could do was to keep crying heavy tears of frustration and regret.

Nova snorted.

"I thought I could trust you," she said, sounding hurt. "I thought you could be a worthy successor of Ace Savvy."

She lifted off the ground, looking down at me.

"I guess we both made mistakes."

And with nothing else to add, she flew away like a shooting star, leaving me alone in the middle of that broken street, a reflection of my failure as a hero. I fell on my knees, and with no one to hear me, I let out a scream of pain and frustration.

* * *

The next couple of hours were the worst in my entire life. It all happened so fast and in a very confusing way for me to fully grasp it. My memory was a great nebula of events that mixed and overlap with each other inside my mind, and honestly, it's hard to make a full timeline of what happened throughout the night.

I know that somehow I got back to where I left my bag with normal clothes. I put my superhero costume away and ran as fast as I could to the hospital. Once there, I went through hell until a nurse told me that Clyde was indeed there. Unfortunately, they refused to say anything more to me unless my parents were there.

I didn't dare to call them. I gave the nurse my home number for her to call them. She took me to a waiting room and even offered me a mug of hot chocolate, which I never accepted but she brought me anyway. She stayed with me, asking lots of questions, trying to figure out what had happened to us, but I had nothing to say. I couldn't. I was just trying to prepare myself for what would become the worst moment of my life.

I knew my parents had arrived way before I saw them. Their screaming and crying could be heard above all the noise and chaos inside the hospital. I didn't want to see them. I didn't want to face them. I left the mug aside and tried to hide, hugging my knees against my chest and lowering my head.

Of course, it wasn't very hard to find the one kid with white hair.

"LINCOLN! LINCOLN, OH MY GOD!"

Two pairs of arms surrounded me, shaking me from side to side, four hands roaming over my body as if they were trying to make sure that I was complete, that I didn't have any part missing. And then they both yelled questions at me at the same time.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!"

"WHY WEREN'T YOU AT HOME?!"

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING?!"

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?!"

"WHY?!"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO CLYDE?!"

"I-It wasn't his fault," I said, trying to find my voice. "I-It's… it's all my fault… H-He followed me…"

"WHERE?!"

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY, LINCOLN?!"

I was overwhelmed by the situation. There were too many questions to answer, and I didn't have the strength of mind in me to come up with answers. I had no way of explaining what had happened. I could only cry as they bombarded me with questions, trying to understand what happened, and their desperation kept making me more and more anxious, especially because I knew it was all my fault.

Something they quickly caught upon.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE TO LEAVE HOME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?!"

"YOU PUT YOURSELF IN DANGER!"

"AND NOW YOUR BROTHER IS IN SURGERY!"

Up until then, no one had told me what was going on with Clyde. For some reason, I had assumed that he would be in a room, being treated for his cuts and wounds. But… a surgery? How bad had the accident been?

Was he still in danger of dying?

Everything that came after that sentence is confusing. I can't remember exactly what happened. I know that at some point a doctor came to ask my parents to calm down and leave me alone. He asked me what had happened to us, but when he saw I wasn't in a position to reply, he let me be. He must have told my parents that I needed to rest or something since at some point a neighbor came to the hospital to take me home. I didn't want to go, I wanted to be with Clyde, but I didn't have energies to argue. Ignoring what people told me to do had gotten me in that position in the first place.

I don't remember the ride home. I don't remember if she invited me to stay in her home or if I fought until she let me stay home alone. I do remember my parents warning me to stay home until they were back, and that they would call me as soon as they had any news on Clyde. I don't remember them saying they loved me.

I couldn't sleep at all. I spent hours with my head against my pillow with no success. I went to Clyde's bed, trying to picture the two of us together like we always did whenever one of us had a nightmare or a terrible day, but not even then could I find peaceful slumber. The emptiness beside me was only making me more and more miserable.

When the morning light slipped through the window and bathed my room, I decided there was no point in trying to fall asleep anymore. Instead, I went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I didn't feel hungry, but I needed something to distract myself. I had my phone in my hand, not wanting to miss a call from my parents. No call came, though, which only fueled my worries.

I went to the living room, let myself fall on the couch, and I turned on the TV, looking for a cartoon or something to distract myself. Of course, the universe didn't' want me to be happy, so the moment I turned on the TV, the first thing I saw was a security footage video of me kicking a security guard in the face.

"ACE SAVVY ATTACKS PRIVATE SECURITY EMPLOYEES" the graph read, as the news reporter —who, oddly enough, wasn't Katherine Mulligan— gave an explanation that ended up burning any glimpse of hope I had left in me.

". _..trespassed with no authorization into a warehouse that belongs to Tetherby Industries. According to official sources from the company, the warehouse was used to store vaccines and food that the Social Action Department within the company distributed to homeless shelters and child services. The security footage clearly shows the young hero identified as Ace Savvy attacking startled security guards that didn't dare take action against a child._ "

Vaccines and food! For the love of God! There was NO WAY they could prove that, right? The media would investigate and get to the bottom of it, they wouldn't fall for such an obvious lie… right?

" _The police department has called for an arrest order on the new Ace Savvy, who's also facing charges of damages to private property and aggravated assault. He is also being investigated for the damages he provoked on a nearby street when, according to witnesses, his explosive deck had a technical malfunction as he was leaving the area_."

I slapped my face. Witnesses? There was no one in the street! It was all a big, fat lie! Was police really looking for me based on nothing but the lies that Tetherby and their employees said?

" _Thank you so much, Jessica, and thanks for coming here on such short notice."_

" _Thank you, David, and I hope you can get in contact with Katherine Mulligan as soon as possible."_

" _So do we. Let's move on now to international news…"_

I muted the TV, stopping myself moments before I threw the remote control against a wall. Right then, I thought I had reached the bottom of the barrel, that I had fallen as deep in disgrace as it was humanly possible.

But then my phone started to ring, and I soon found out that there was still a long way to keep falling. I took desperately grabbed the phone, thinking it was one of my dads trying to tell me how Clyde's operation had gone. I was hoping with all my heart that they were good news, but I was also preparing myself for… not so good news.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a call from my parents, but instead from someone that had been living rent-free in my head for several months, and oddly, hadn't come up in my thoughts at all during the entire night.

Jordan. And the moment I read her name, the weight of my unfulfilled promises brought down my mood even more if that was even possible. I hadn't finished my part of the project. The same project we had been working on for almost two months, and that we had to present this morning in front of the entire class to show our progress. The same progress that I promised the day before I would finish writing down on my own, rejecting her help, letting her know that she could trust me.

Yet someone else I had severely disappointed. I just couldn't pick up her call. I canceled it, and just in case, I muted our chat. I couldn't speak to her or own up to the fact that I failed her, and that all these weeks of hard work had been in vain, probably getting a terrible grade in this particular check-in instance.

I was the worst human being on planet Earth.

* * *

I spent a couple of hours spiraling down in a sea of depression and guilt. I felt no hunger, sleep, or tiredness. I couldn't feel anything but negative emotions crashing inside of me, like tides in the middle of a storm. Even in that state, I realized I couldn't stay put and keep drowning in misery. I needed to do something to distract myself, to get away from such negative feelings.

Not knowing what else to do, I grabbed our basketball and went to the backyard to shoot some hoops. Even without being entirely focused, my effectiveness was a stunning 100%. Every shot was a double-pointer.

I should've known that wasn't a bright idea. The fact that I didn't need to focus to score meant that my mind was free to roam and busy itself with thoughts. My main worry was regarding my status as a superhero. Had I forfeited that title? I didn't really know how could I possibly let myself keep working as a night vigilante. The police were after me. Public opinion would surely turn against me after those news reports. My brother had been severely injured and was, apparently, still struggling to survive. I had failed my loved ones. I failed Nova and Eclipse, ruining their chances of being true heroines and capture Tetherby the right way.

And all for what? What had I actually accomplished? I didn't have any definitive proof that Tetherby had given the guns to Wild Card Willy. I only found out that Tetherby had some long-term plan to get in charge of the security forces, and that he was developing all sorts of weapons to fight metahumans. Sentinel Project, I think was called?

Thinking about it made me realize that the mecha-suit I had faced was probably part of the second phase in said project. A robotic suit that was able to fight any metahuman. It was a force to be reckoned with, one that had almost taken me out of business. Nova and Eclipse's timely intervention was the only thing that saved me from certain death.

Second realization: Tetherby had come up with that lie about my deck of cards causing all the destruction on the streets because he didn't want the world to know that three teenage heroes had obliterated his last-generation asset against metahumans. It wasn't exactly great publicity for a project that he hadn't been able to sell yet.

The last thing I had found out by eavesdropping on him was that he was interested in learning about the past and origin of Ace Savvy. He mentioned something about a truth serum and someone to pay a visit to get some clues on Ace Savvy's life. Who could he be talking about?

"There you are!"

The voice spoke just as I was about to shoot at the hoop from the three-points line. I didn't even need to turn around to recognize that precious voice, which now sounded more furious than I've ever heard her. I didn't want to look at her in the eye, she was the last person I wanted to see right then.

"If you're good enough to play basketball you _at least_ could've texted me back and explain why you didn't go to school, or why you didn't send me your part of the project!"

I let the ball slip out of my grasp, bouncing away from me. My arms weighed a tonne all of a sudden, and the only thing I could do was dropping my head and let the weight of my shame sink me lower, accepting every well-deserved insult that Jordan would throw at me. I couldn't even blame her for coming into my backyard unannounced. She probably heard the sound of the basketball bouncing in the concrete.

"The teacher failed us!" She said, stopping a few feet behind me. "At least Clyde sent his part to Stella last night! If you had something to do, you could have told me! I offered you my help! Do you have any idea of all the trouble I'll be getting with my parents because of this? I'll be lucky if they ever let me go out to play Dungeons and Dragons with you guys again!"

Great. I could add all these problems I caused to the girl I liked to the long list of disappointments that I had caused in less than twenty-four hours. I squeezed my fists, and my eyes itched with the treacherous tears that threatened to fall.

"Is that it? Aren't you going to say anything? Lincoln, just tell me what happened. Why didn't you talk to me? Why didn't you go to school? Lincoln? Lincoln! At least have the decency to look at me!"

I guessed I owed her that much. Breathing in, I summoned the courage to turn around and look at her in the eye. The least I could do was to look at her as I received any insult she had prepared for me.

I was ready for her to insult me, to hit me, to tell me she didn't want to ever see me again, or that we could no longer be friends. Whatever punishment was waiting for me, I'd take it. I looked her in the eye and I had to admit, even when she was angry she looked pretty. Whatever anger she felt though didn't seem to last, and a shade of worry painted her face.

"Lincoln… what happened to you?"

It took me a second to understand what she was talking about. I thought maybe my eyes were red for all the crying, or I had eyebags for the lack of sleep, but her wincing expression made me remember that my battle had left me with many, many small cuts throughout my cheeks, forehead, and chin. Nothing too serious, I had even forgotten about them.

I didn't want to answer her, though. This wasn't about me, it was about how much I failed her as a partner and a friend.

"Jordan, I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

My throat was dry and sore after crying for the entire night and morning. I heard myself and couldn't believe how pathetic I sounded. I needed to show myself as someone reliable and under control in front of Jordan, but once again I was aware of how weak and how much of a mess I really was. I didn't think it was possible for me to have any more tears to shed, that I had already filled my daily quota, but I was seemingly wrong.

I covered my face with both hands, not wanting her to see me cry, to see me in such a vulnerable state. My day was going from bad to worse. Couldn't I get five minutes without everything going wrong for me?

"Lincoln, are you okay? What's wrong?"

She walked next to me, placing her soft hands on my shoulders. At my evident silence —broken only by my whimpering sobs—, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug I was too weak to refuse. I hugged her back, crying louder, opening my heart out for her, even at the risk of looking like a wimp.

Even though I didn't want to, I desperately needed someone to vent with.

* * *

"...and they still haven't called me," I finished explaining, my eyes lost in the glass of water Jordan had brought me from the kitchen.

We were sitting in the living room, in front of the muted TV. She dragged me there, trying to calm me down, spoken softly to me like I was a little kid. When she asked me what had happened, I decided to share part of the truth.

The story I told her was that I had snuck out of the house in the middle of the night —refusing to explain what I was doing—, that Clyde had followed me without me knowing, and that because of it, we were involved in an accident —that I gave no details about.

"Oh, God…" she said, covering her mouth with her hands before launching forward and giving me a side hug, her head resting on my shoulder. "Oh, Lincoln, I'm so sorry! I had no idea! I was… I was so focused on the project… I should've known you wouldn't miss it unless something bad had happened…"

"Don't try to justify me," I said, resting my head on hers and closing my eyes to enjoy the soft smell of her shampoo. "This is all my fault. I should've finished my part in time. I should've sent it to you last night. I shouldn't have gone out. And now… now you got a bad gade and C-Clyde… Clyde…"

"Lincoln, you guys had an accident," she said, holding me tighter. "It's not your fault."

"It is!" I said, louder than I intended. "Jordan, you don't understand. I went to places I shouldn't have gone. I should've stayed home and kept my promises. I was selfish, I put myself before others. I failed everyone. Clyde, my parents, myself… I failed _you_."

Jordan broke the hug, and right away I found myself longing for the warmth of her body against mine. She knelt on the sofa, took the glass away from me, and held one of my hands. With her other hand, she slithered the tip of her fingers over my cheek, ghosting over the small crusts on the cuts I had.

"Lincoln, you're not perfect," she told me, her green eyes looking at me as deep as the ocean. "You make mistakes, you mess up, and you get hurt. You know that makes you?"

"An idiot?"

"A human just like everyone else," she corrected me, gripping my hand tighter. "You're not invincible. No one is. And yeah, sometimes things don't go the way we want, you know? I get it. We all take our chances, and… and sometimes they set us back. But the fact that you mess up doesn't define you."

She closed her moments for an instant, sighing like she was also going through an emotional moment, for some reason.

"What defines you is that you're always struggling to become a better person, to improve. And that's all anyone can ask from you. To give your best. You always put your friends and loved ones first, and that makes you special and different from most people."

"I… I don't know what you're talking about. That's not how I see myself."

"It is how we all see you. How _I_ see you."

"Really?"

"Of course! Lincoln, you were the one that was willing to sacrifice Silver Edge just so the rest of the party could escape. If that's not being heroic… then I don't know what is."

With my morality being as low as it was, those simple words were a tender touch to my soul, a small fire in the middle of the frozen glacier that surrounded my heart. Even though part of me didn't think I was in any position to receive compliments, I couldn't help to cheer up a bit.

"Heroic or stupid, one of the two," I said, making us both chuckle. "I never imagined that a horde of zombies would attack us from the other side of the bridge and a killer worm would fall from the ceiling."

"Well, that's the power of misdirection. Stella made us focus so much on looking down that we didn't check the ceiling."

"She's a great DM."

"And you're a great person. Don't forget about it."

Had I been braver, had I left my heart guide me and overcome my fears, if I wasn't the insecure coward I was, I would have tried to kiss her right there. Alas, I didn't. The idea of her rejecting me was too painful for me to take that risk.

So, blushing lightly at the compliments I received and the mental picture of reducing the distance between us until our lips pressed together, I turned my head, too embarrassed to look at her.

And that's when I saw the burning building.

"Wow, what happened?" I said, breaking the spell that tethered us.

"Oh, wow," she said, taking the remote and unmuting the TV.

"BREAKING NEWS: EXPLOSION AT TETHERBY INDUSTRIES WAREHOUSE".

The entire block where Thetherby's warehouse had been last night was now engulfed in fire, with the flames spreading to some nearby buildings. A young reporter was doing the coverage of it one block away, with the fire and the flames in the background.

" _The firefighter team is working at full speed trying to control the fire, but we've been confirmed that the main hypothesis is that the damages caused last night by the so-called young hero Ace Savvy compromised the gas pipes system. The entire building exploded approximately fifteen minutes ago, spreading debris and fire all around the area. So far, there are fifteen reported injured, and the security forces are working as hard as they can to access the compromised buildings to save as many civilians as possible. They estimate… Attention! Attention! The young duo of superheroines Nova and Eclipse have just arrived to help with the rescue teams!_ "

The camera moved around frantically to show the two figures flying through the sky and into the burning buildings to do some heroic acts.

"This is amazing! The two heroes have come to our rescue! I can't believe it, this is fabulous!"

"Thad guy seems pretty excited," said Jordan, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it looks like he's never covered any hero in action.

"They're all usually covered by that lady in yellow. What's her name? I don't know, but it's pretty weird that she's not there right now."

"Yeah, that's—"

I didn't finish my sentence, since I had just had the final realization about what had happened the night before. Tetherby said he needed his truth serum to get answers from someone that could guide them into Ace Savvy's life. And I knew for a fact that there was only one person that knew his secret identity besides me: Katherine Mulligan, who oh just so happened to be MIA from the news since the morning.

She and I were the only people that knew where Ace Savvy's manor was, the place where the Cube that had granted me my powers was being hidden. The same manor that the original Ace Savvy had asked me to burn down to ashes, a request that I hadn't fulfilled. And now, there was a possibility that an evil businessman with plans of building an anti-metahumans army could get his hands on an object capable of turning people into supersoldiers.

My career as a superhero was over. I had failed my parents, my brother, my friends, the girl of my dreams, my city, the other heroes. I had failed everyone.

But I couldn't fail Ace Savvy once again.

"Jordan, thanks for coming here, but I need to be alone."

"I don't want you to be alone," she said, still holding my hand, "I know you—"

"Please."

She bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

For the first time in the entire day, a spark of determination and conviction had lit up within me.

"Yeah. I know what I need to do."

It was time to deal out some justice.


	9. My last stand

“Dang it,” I cursed to myself, hiding between the branches and leaves of the tall tree I was currently using as a watchtower, “I’m too late!”

After saying goodbye to Jordan, I wasted no time in putting on my superhero suit and running as fast and stealthily as I could towards Ace Savvy’s manor. I had a terrible feeling about what was about to happen, and even though all I could base that sense of dread on was a hunch, I didn’t want to waste a single moment, nor did I want to accidentally go unprepared. I needed to be ready for the worst.

Both my paranoia and my hunch ended up being justified when, having just arrived at Wayne Avenue at 1900, I found that the street was blocked with fences. A couple of men wearing yellow vests and construction hats were standing next to a light post, but the more I observed them, the more I realized that they weren’t doing anything, just faking that they were working. More urgent and vital, though, was the fact that parked in front of Ace Savvy’s manor there were two white vans with no plates and a black truck similar to those that carried sodas to big stores. Only that the trailer was covered entirely, so I couldn’t tell what was inside. What could they be bringing here?

I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what was going on. My theory had been correct. There was simply no other alternative, these vans belonged to Tetherby, and the only way he could have found out about Ace Savvy’s address was through Katherine Mulligan. He was probably inside the manor already. I couldn’t afford to keep losing time.

Analyzing the area from my birdseye point of view, I could see that besides the two men dressed as electricians, another three guards were patrolling the front yard, walking in circles by the entrance, the stairs, and the main door. If I moved with caution and precision, I could manage to get in without being seen. But something told me that once inside, it would be impossible to avoid a confrontation, and if they were to call for reinforcements, then it might be for the best to get them out of the picture before getting there.

“Alright, Lincoln. You’re an eleventh level rogue. You’re the master of stealth. No one will see you,” I told myself, moving my arms and neck to warm up and prepare for what was about to happen.

I waited until everyone seemed to be looking away from my position before dropping out of the tree and dashing quietly as a shadow towards the vans. I slid at the last second, rolling under the car. I was no mechanic, but I began to break and tear apart as many cables and tubes as I could find. When I saw oil starting to leak, I figured the vans were compromised enough to avoid anyone getting away should it come down to it. Hopefully.

The next step was distracting the guards to get inside the property. The first employees I needed to distract were the two pretending to be electricians. And I already knew how to.

I snuck around the truck and, with a quick move before hiding once again, I threw a metal Ace at the cables at the top of the light post they were pretending to be working on. It cut through several of them, splitting them in half and having them fall all around the goons, surrounding them.

“WATCH OUT!”

“AAAH, DON’T BE GROUNDED, DON’T BE GROUNDED!”

“WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!”

“I DONT’ KNOW, JUST DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING!”

The two men, who clearly knew nothing about electricity, would be busy for a while.

“I really hope those were phone lines. Everyone uses cellphones nowadays anyway,” I said to myself, though in all honesty, I had probably just left a whole block without electricity. Oh, well, it was for a good cause.

The two men yelling got the attention of the three armed guards stationed inside the manor’s grounds. I took a glance at them, confirming that the diversion was working, before sneaking through the left side and climbing the fences as fast as I could. I fell on the inside and rushed to hide behind a bush. Fortunately, Ace Savvy had been a fan of gardening, or at the very least he paid for an awesome gardener, and so the front yard was filled with bushes and small trees that I could use for cover.

“What’s wrong with those idiots?” The guard in the middle asked.

“They were supposed to just stand there and do nothing.”

“You know how Tony is, he takes his roles way too seriously. Remember when he just needed to pretend to be a doctor to get the boss out of the hospital but ended up helping a lady give birth?”

The guard at the middle and the one standing at the entrance of the house seemed to be happy to spend time roasting their coworkers, so I seized the moment to rush at the one closest to me. He was standing dangerously close to the peripheral vision of the other two and thus I needed to act fast and efficiently.

The poor guy must have awakened a while later not understanding a thing. He never knew what hit him. I sneaked in from behind, jumped at the last second, and threw a strong karate chop at the union between his neck and his shoulder. He plummeted to the ground, and I made sure to drag his body behind a bush to keep him hidden for a little while.

“...I’m serious, I like the guy, but I feel like he should just take acting classes and try to get some gigs out there, right? This ain’t the right job for him. What do you think, Joe?” The middle guard asked, apparently turning in the direction his coworker had been standing up until a few seconds ago. “Joe? Where the heck did you go?”

I sneaked a peek. The two guards were now moving their heads around, trying to find the missing person, which made moving around much harder. I managed, however, to keep gaining terrain until I reached the left side of the house.

“I don’t like this at all,” the middle guard said, going back to the house entrance next to his buddy. “Where did Joe go?”

“I dunno and I don’t care, he can go to hell for all I care.”

“The boss’ gonna get his ass fired.”

“Good riddance.”

“What did he do to get you to hate him so much?”

“He never lets me drive the van. Always rushes to get the keys before me so he can drive. What is he, fifteen years old? It’s not like he owns the damn car.”

“Huh. I’ll go take a look around, maybe he got out or something.”

“Do whatever you want, you can go to hell for all I care.”

I heard a sigh and some steps slowly getting away. Taking advantage of it, I climbed to the top of the porch, got to where the guard was standing, and as soon as I saw him take a step out of the stoop, I jumped into him, hitting him with both hands at the same time and taking him out of combat ninja style.

I even managed to catch his body before it hit the ground. Flawless job. Now I could drag him to the back where no one would—

“Fuck it, I’ve had enough,” the last guard said, stopping his walk and turning around. “I wasn’t gonna say anything but someone has to bring it up. You’re such a…”

His eyes met mine. He then looked at his unconscious buddy, whom I was currently grabbing by the legs. He looked up at me once again.

We stayed in silence for some very long, tense seconds.

“You know what? I’m done with this job,” he said, showing me how he slowly unbuckled the belt where he kept his gun, letting it drop to the floor. “I don’t get paid enough, they don’t give me vacations, and all my coworkers are assholes. I’m not gonna shoot a kid, and I would rather not have you break my bones, so don’t worry about me. I quit. This isn’t worth it. The boss’ inside with some soldiers and the news reporter. Do whatever you want with them. I’m out.”

He didn’t even give me time to say anything back or to thank him for his cooperation. The guy simply walked away, leaving through the main gate and completely ignoring the calls for help of the two guys that were still trying to get out of the cable cage that surrounded them.

“Uh… Okay…  _ that _ just happened,” I said, surprised once again by the attitude of Tetherby’s employees. What awful conditions did he keep them in for all of them to be so incompetent or unloyal?

Such a truly evil man.

Going inside through the main door didn’t seem to be a particularly smart idea. I needed to keep the element of surprise on my side and sneak into wherever Tetherby and his goons were. If they knew I was coming, they could potentially use Katherine Mulligan as a hostage and threaten her to stop me. I couldn’t let the situation escalate to that point, so until I could get Katherine to a safe position, I had no other option than to stay hidden. Careful not to make any noise, I went to the back of the manor and climbed to the second floor. The windows to what seemed to be a guest room were closed, but no lock was a match to my superhero strength. Trying my hardest not to make any more noise than what was absolutely necessary, I forced the lock open and snuck inside. From what I could tell, the entire house was dark.

“Dang it, those  _ were  _ electric lines,” I said, facepalming. “I better save the day, or they’re  _ definitely _ gonna arrest me.”

I peeked my head to the hallway and heard voices coming from down below in the big living room and library with the cathedral ceiling, where the entrance to Ace Savvy’s secret lair could be found. Since I could still see all the furniture, I knew that they hadn’t found the book that revealed the armory and base of operations.

I wasn’t so late after all. I was still in time to stop all of this before it was too late. I still had a chance to save the day and keep Tetherby from snatching the cube and use it for his evil plans. Speaking of Tetherby, his voice soon reached my ears.

“We can stay here all day and check every single damn book on the shelves, but it would really be in everyone’s best interests to finish here as soon as possible, so just tell us which one opens the secret door.”

“I don’t know, I never paid any attention to which one it was,” said the exhausted voice of Katherine Mulligan, sounding dizzy, dragging every word. It was weird listening to her like that, so lethargic, considering that she was known for her entertaining and energic way of talking and presenting news. It was as if she hadn’t slept at all during the night, or like she had had one too many drinks.

“Alright, I guess she’s telling the truth,” Tetherby said, sounding annoyed. “You three! Faster!”

I moved stealthily until I could get a clearer visual of the situation. Tetherby, with his top hat and a ridiculous black cane, was watching over three of his guards taking books out of the shelves, one by one. Behind him, another four soldiers were surrounding Katherine Mulligan. She was wearing her yellow attire, as usual, but her hands were tied in front of her, and she seemed to be making a conscious effort to stand up. She didn’t seem to be hurt, but there was something weird about the way she stood and how she talked. She seemed… drugged.

“The truth serum,” I remembered.

I squeezed my fists. I had imagined that this would happen after hearing about the truth serum last night and figuring out who was behind Katherine Mulligan’s disappearance. Seeing her in that state, however, filled me with unbridled rage. The fact that Tetherby would dare drug someone just to get what he wanted was making me sick. What kind of monster was he?

“You’re not gonna get away with his,” Katherine said, making Tetherby turn around to look at her.

“And who’s gonna stop me? You?”

“I… can’t do anything,” she said, sounding surprised at her own words.

“At least I know you understand the futility of your rebellious attitude,” he replied with a smile.

“But… the heroes… they’ll stop you.”

“Ha! Don’t make me laugh, woman. The two blondies are busy with the fire at my warehouse, I made sure to keep them entertained so they wouldn’t stop us in the worst-case scenario. And that nosy Ace Savvy Jr has become a public enemy. I made sure of that as well. Do you see it now? You can’t trust heroes to keep you safe. They’ll always,  _ always _ let you down.”

“I believe in them.”

Tetherby stepped forward, getting dangerously close to her. One of the guards hit her with the back of the gun to make her fall to her knees, leaving her at eye level with Tetherby. He put the top of his cane under Katherine’s chin, forcing her to look at him in the eye.

“Your hope is misplaced.”

He turned again, looking back at the guards trying out the books.

“If you’re not going to help us accelerate the process, I don’t know how useful it is for us to keep you here. Don’t tempt me into tieing out loose ends.”

The guard that had just hit her poked her back with his gun, a little harsher than necessary.

“Come on, back on your feet.”

Katherine turned her head to give him a nasty look over her shoulder.

And right then, I stood up and raised a hand so she could see me. She seemed surprised to realize I was there and stared at me for longer than I wanted. I quickly made a gesture for her to stay quiet. I just wanted her to be aware that she wasn’t alone in this, and that I would save her. I wanted to prove to her that she wasn’t making a mistake trusting heroes. Trusting me.

“I said, stand up!”

To my surprise, Katherine nodded in my direction, and instants later, she dropped prone to the floor.

“Wow, wow, what’s going on?” The guard said, catching the attention of Tetherby.

“Oh, for God’s sake, I told you not to hit her too hard!”

“But sir, I didn’t do anything!”

“Don’t be an idiot, I saw you when you hit her! We need her awake in case something happens! You fool, why must you fail me so often?! Get her to a sofa or something and pray to God she doesn’t pass out or I’ll leave this place with fewer employees than I entered!”

The guy sighed in annoyance but tried his best to carefully grab Katherine from under her arms and softly drag her to a sofa on the other side of the living room. Now I understood what Katherine’s plan was. No other guard was following her, so now she only had one guy next to her, which greatly helped me and my plan of getting her safe as soon as possible. I just needed to wait for the rest of the goons to get distracted enough for me to neutralize that soldier and prevent her from being caught in the crossfire.

The distraction, unfortunately, wasn’t caused by me, but rather by the soldier that finally moved the red book. The whole room started to shake, and the walls began to fold, beginning the transformation sequence to reveal Ace Savvy’s secret lair. Tetherby and all the guards around him jumped in surprise and began to observe with great interest how the wall in front of them disappeared into the floor.

“Now,” I said, shooting my grappling hook at the roof.

I swung through the air at full speed into the one guy watching over Katherine Mulligan. I hit him with both legs on his back, tackling him. Wasting no time, I kicked his rifle away, and when he tried to stand up, I hit him in the stomach hard enough to take him out of the fight. Time was against me, so I immediately used an ace to cut the ties on Katherine’s wrists.

“Are you alright?” I asked her in a whisper, though the sound of the entire manor’s architecture morphing into a new room would have allowed me to speak louder.

“No,” she said right away, rubbing her wrists. “They gave me an injection and I couldn’t stop myself, I said everything I knew about Nifty.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I got this. Does he know about Ace’s power source?”

“The Tesseract?”

“Uh… the red cube?”

She nodded. “I told him about it. I don’t know where it is, but he knows what he’s after.”

“Then I need to stop him. I took care of the guards at the entrance, you should be able to run away safely. Call the firefighters, get them to explain what’s going on here to Nova and Eclipse. I’ll try to stop Tetherby or at least buy enough time for them to get here.”

I stood up, decided on giving out my everything to solve this situation. She grabbed me by my wrist, stopping me before I left.

“It feels like I’m dizzy, and I can’t control what I say,” she explained, “I can’t help but say everything I know or feel out loud.”

“He gave you a truth serum, you should probably call an ambulance to get checked up,” I suggested, but she shook her head.

“What I’m trying to say is that… I believe in you. I know you’ll solve this whole situation.”

I was left speechless, not knowing what to say. She smiled at me, and with some difficulty, she stood up.

“Go. Stop this madman. I’ll make a few phone calls.”

With one last look, she left as fast as her physical state allowed her to.

I decided to follow her example and stop wasting time. Inspired by those truthful words, I now had not a single ounce of doubt left in me. I couldn’t allow myself to doubt. It was me against six armed men and Tetherby, and it was entirely up to me to stop him from getting his hands on the… tesseract, as Katherine Mulligan had called it. I still wasn’t completely sure of what the deal was with that object, but I knew it was powerful and thus dangerous if it fell in the wrong hands. I wasn’t precisely the most trustworthy person around, as my short career had proven so far, but at least I had no intentions of making an army of super soldiers. That had to count for something, right?

“Hahahaha! At last! Ace Savvy’s secret armory!” Tetherby celebrated, extending his arms and laughing like a madman.

He and all his guards were too entertained staring at the newfound room that had revealed itself to them to pay any attention to the eleven years old kid that snuck from behind. I needed to eliminate as many of them as fast as I could because, in an open battle of fists against guns, the long game benefited them.

Ace Savvy had asked me to burn down his place and reduce it to ashes just to destroy all his secrets and weapons. Out of respect and because I wasn’t a destructive person by nature, part of me wanted to keep as much of the furniture and artifacts as intact as possible. This was, after all, everything that was left of Ace Savvy. But my priority right now was to get rid of these guys and make sure they wouldn’t get away with it, so I decided to prematurely forgive myself for all the damages to his property that I was about to cause.

Stella was a great DM, with an incredible capacity to surprise us all with her original and challenging encounters. She wasn’t a fan of simply throwing out some monsters and attack, no. She was always looking out for creative ways to surprise us and put us in strange situations, forcing us to get creative and be original. And I had learned a couple of things from her, such as the art of misdirection and unexpected attacks from above.

I breathed in, getting ready for the confrontation.

“Time to be a hero,” I said.

I began by throwing three green Aces, creating a sudden smokescreen that surrounded Tetherby and her footmen. They were taken aback and began to cough, not ready for all the smoke making its way into their lungs. I then threw an explosive card to the wooden ceiling right above them. The trusses exploded, with pieces of wood and slate falling over the villains. One of them got hit by a log big enough to knock him unconscious, while the rest were just knocked to the ground and covered in debris.

“AAAGH!”

“Sir, stand back!”

“What is the meaning of this?!”

“On your positions, we’re under attack!”

Two soldiers managed to get the debris out of them, and when they crawled out of the smokescreen, they saw me standing there.

“It’s Ace Savvy!” One of them alerted the rest, standing up.

“What?!” Tetherby said, trying to find his way out of the smoke, waving his hand around desperately. “Stop him!”

The guards took his guns, but they were too slow. Before they could even take the safety off, aim, and shoot at me, I had already activated my grappling hook gun. The cable passed right in the middle of the two men, and they seemed to freeze in their place for a few seconds, probably scared thinking I had shot at them. They weren’t my target, however. I planted my feet on the ground and readied myself to counteract the strong pull of the retracting mechanism. My whole torso shook as the force hit me, but I managed to anchor into the ground tightly enough so instead of me flying towards them, the hook pulled the table it had grappled itself around to me. It hit the two guards on the back, knocking them down and making them drop their guns. I ran towards them and broke them by the cannon, leaving them completely useless.

The rest of the guards had by now crawled out of the debris and the now dissipating smokescreen. Tetherby ran away as far away from me as possible within the huge room, yelling at his men.

“TAKE HIM DOWN! TAKE HIM DOWN!”

“This is your last chance to surrender,” I said, trying to sound threatening.

They seemed to be more afraid of their boss, though, since they soon grabbed their guns and aimed at me. I was about twenty or so feet away from them, enough distance for them to get a couple of rounds of bullets in me before I got to them. I needed to move with precision to avoid a painful death.

I felt just like I did during that gym class with the dodgeball game the day I figured out I had superpowers. All their movements seemed obvious and predictable to me. They weren’t hiding their intentions, and I could instinctively guess where and when they would shoot, so I could be one step ahead and avoid ending up like a strainer.

When the first round of bullets came my way, I had already rolled to the side. A small but interesting detail that I caught during those milliseconds was the fact that the sound of the assault rifle shooting came just after the bullets flew past me. Did that mean that if I wasn’t careful enough I could die before even hearing what had killed me? It was a terrifying thought.

And yet, at no point was I ever truly scared for my life. The adrenaline running through my body was stronger than my fear of death. Maybe because right then, my mission was more important than my life. The real Ace Savvy had died just to protect me, and he had only asked for me to make sure that the cube —tesseract?— didn’t fall in bad hands. Katherine Mulligan would try to follow my instructions and call Nova and Eclipse. Even if I died, everything would be alright as long as I managed to keep Tetherby and his goons busy enough for them to get here in time and save the day. They had proven to be up to the task, unlike me. They were the heroes this town needed.

Not being afraid of death didn’t mean that I didn’t recognize that I was more useful alive. I rolled, jumped, slid, and dodged to the best of my acrobatic capabilities. I couldn’t allow myself to stay put for not even a second, and I put special effort into moving in a way that made my cape move around and expanding on the air as much as possible. By occupying more space, it concealed my body and made it even harder for them to aim efficiently at me.

It all worked out perfectly in the end, even if my cape ended up pierced on several spots by bullets that came dangerously close to hitting me. I was moving like a hurricane, circling the entire room. The air was impregnated with the smell of gunpowder and wood splinters that jumped everywhere product of lost bullets.

“SHOOT HIM DOWN! GET HIM! HE CAN’T LEAVE!” Tetherby kept shouting over all the chaos.

“You’re running out of time!” I warned them just as I jumped over and slid on the metallic surface of one of Ace Savvy’s tables, knocking down all the objects and books placed there.

“You’re the one running out of time!” A soldier responded as they kept shooting at me.

“Oh, I’ve got all the time in the world!” I said, grabbing a book and throwing it at the guy’s face.

They kept shooting at me, but I knew I only needed to run and dodge for a couple more seconds before finally closing the distance between them and me. And once I did that, the danger of the bullets would disappear, and I would take the fight where it was more convenient for me: hand to hand combat. So, I bought some time by keep rolling on the floor and throw an Ace into one of the fluorescent tubes that had appeared with Ace Savvy’s armory. The sparks were enough to make the soldiers take a step back, giving me time to stand up.

“You can’t run forever!”

“I don’t have to,” I said, somersaulting to avoid incoming shots, “only long enough…”

And suddenly, the sound of gunshots stopped, and no more bullets flew in my direction.

“...for you to have to reload,” I finished with a smile, cracking my knuckles. 

They all seemed to understand what was about to happen, but I still dashed into them full speed. Some were smart enough to drop their weapons, while others thought they could be fast enough to reload in time before I got to them. A very unfortunate miscalculation on their part.

Those were the ones I focused on at first, trying to disarm them. The closest soldier to me tried to hit me in the face with the back of his gun, but I stepped aside before it hit me.

“I’m gonna need that!” I said, hitting him on the wrist with my forearm to make him drop it. I grabbed the gun before it hit the ground, and turning my whole body, I used it to hit him in the face like a baseball bat.

“UGH!” He grunted, falling to the ground with a bloody face.

“Sorry!” I apologized, even though I wasn’t really sorry. I used my knee to break the weapon in two and leave the pieces on the floor.

Two more soldiers tried to punch me, flanking me from both sides. I covered my face with my right arm. Even though I avoided being hit in the head, it hurt like hell, and I guessed that an ugly bruise would appear there the next morning. To the one that came to my left, I had no other option than to throw him before he got me, sweeping the floor with my leg and making him trip.

I looked once again to my right, and when the guy tried to punch me again, I managed to catch his fist with my palm.

“That was super rude!” I said, pulling his arm to the side to make him lose balance and then punching him in the center of the stomach.

The last two that I hadn’t hit yet were in the middle of reloading their guns, so I had to act fast. I run into one of them and I jumped, twisting my body and giving him a flying turnaround kick right on the neck. He plummeted to the floor and dropped his weapon. The other one, realizing he wouldn’t get to shoot me, tried to use his gun as a club, but I simply let myself fall back. I threw my hands behind me to use them as support and I let my body do a full backward roll, kicking my legs up to hit his hands and push the rifle out of his reach. Once I stood up again, I moved my face just in time to dodge a hook.

“Watch out!” I yelled, feinting a low kick.

He tried to defend himself, moving his hands down to catch my leg. But the kick never came, and I instead took advantage of his opening to land a jab on his chest and a cross to his face.

“Two for flinching!”

I picked up the two guns and threw them to the other side of the room, accidentally hitting one guy that was in the process of waking up in the head, knocking him out again. Everyone was disarmed now and most weapons had been destroyed.

I turned around to find some that weren’t, but without even giving me time to react, one of the goons jumped on me. I tried to push him away, but he was much heavier than me, and we both rolled on the floor. I managed to end up on top and releasing myself from his grip. I hit him square in the chest, and I was about to do it again, be he managed to land a punch just under my rib cage, taking the air out of my lungs.

Taking advantage of my momentary distraction, another goon came from behind, circling his arms around my chest and keeping me from moving. He lifted me, restraining me, and the rest of the soldiers began to regroup.

I couldn’t allow myself to play fair, there was too much at risk. I moved my head until I managed to bite him in the arm.

“AAAAAGH!”

I felt him flinch in pain, and the moment he softened his grip, I threw my head back, headbutting him in the face and leaving him out of combat. The other four surrounded me, one on each side, in front, and behind me. I was in the middle of them all, waiting. I raised my arms in a boxing pose and glanced around to look at each of them.

“So, who’s first?” I asked, trying to sound confident.

The four of them attacked at the same time. For a whole minute, my body moved by itself, and it’s hard for me to explain what I did to deflect every hit that was thrown my way. The key was to never stop moving. Turning like a hurricane, I never stopped blocking punches, dodging kicks, deflecting hits, and pushing whoever got too close for my liking. On more than one occasion I didn’t manage to duck in time, and I got several hard hits in my face and body, but none strong enough to bring me down. And even though I was too busy defending against four adult men, I took advantage of every single opportunity I had to land a hit of my own. These guys were tougher than they looked, though.

“DON’T LET HIM BREATHE! STOP HIM! IT’S JUST A DAMN BOY!” Tetherby complained.

“He’s a meta!”

“NO EXCUSES!”

Even though it was true that I had the powers of a metahuman, or at the very least, I had artificially reached the top capacities of a human being, I wasn’t invincible or anything like that. And I didn’t know how much longer I could keep this up. I needed to take these guys down fast.

The original Ace Savvy would have defeated them all with his bare hands without sweating. I wasn’t as skilled or amazing he was, however, so I was more dependant on my originality and wit than my muscles to get out of compromising situations like that one.

I waited for the right moment where everyone around me seemed to be recovering from a hit or getting ready to strike again. I then grabbed one of the blue Aces and jumped as high as I could. Once in the air, I threw it with all my strength to the floor right where I had been standing a second ago. The Ace shattered with the force, and it released the entire electric charge it carried within. I avoided being hit by it since I was in the air, not touching the ground. The four men, however, must have felt an abrasive current moving up their legs, making them fall to the ground with cramped muscles.

When I touched the ground once again, the current had already dispersed, and I had the four soldiers at my mercy.

“This is gonna hurt tomorrow, fellas,” I warned them.

Punch with the left arm to the one on the front. Right jab to my left. Elbow hit with the same arm to my right. Round kick to the back. One by one, they all fell. The eight goons were now out of combat, some knocked out, some still conscious but in no state to get up and keep fighting.

I let out a relieved sigh. I hadn’t come out of it unscathed at all. My suit and cape were all torn out with several slashes and holes where bullets scraped or pierced them. Still, even though I wasn’t tired per se, that short fight had required a lot of focus and mental strain, and I had taken some nasty hits that would have knocked out cold my old self. This had ended up being much more threatening and dangerous than I thought.

But it was all over now. I had successfully neutralized the threat. There was only one bad guy standing. I turned with furious eyes to glare at Tetherby, who was trying to hide behind a sofa, his old, ugly face barely peeking out.

“You better turn yourself in before you give me an excuse to beat you up like another one of your soldiers.”

“You think you’re going to get away with this?” He asked, more of his body peeking out from behind the sofa. “What do you think you’re getting from this? Do you really believe a stupid kid like you can stop me?”

I opened my arms, pointing at all his defeated goons. “I’ve already stopped you. And when the police find out what you did, you’re gonna rot in jail.”

He then began to laugh like a maniac. “Oh, you’re so funny! Why would you think this will change anything? Don’t you realize that nothing you do will ever change the way the world works? Do you really think your little hero adventure is going to end well? You’re going to end up just like the real Ace Savvy.”

“Tough words for someone with nowhere to run. Trying to buy time so I don’t punch you in the face?”

“Oh, no, on the contrary,” he said, raising a hand and showing me his black cane, which now had a tiny red light flickering at the top, “I’m just stalling to get you right where I want you.”

I heard a buzzing noise above me, an electric sound that was turning sharper by the second. When I looked up at the hole in the roof that I made earlier, I could see but a shadow in the sky, impossible to appreciate in detail due to the lighting difference between the outside and the relatively dark inside of the manor. But I didn’t need to have a clear visual of that figure to recognize the sound and realize that the situation had become much direr than I expected.

The first two shots took me by surprise. They pierced through the ceiling and hit the floor right next to me. The force of the explosion sent me flying several feet through the air, making me hit my back against one of the walls. It left me dizzy for a few moments, but I was forced to recover after hearing the heavy thud of several tons of steel landing in the living room. And when I looked up, I found myself staring at another battle suit just like the one that had almost killed me the night before.

Tetherby burst out laughing once again.

“You fool! Did you think I would visit this place in person without a contention plan in case metahumans showed up? You’re even stupider than I thought?”

The mecha suit knelt and extended one of its palms. Tetherby jumped onto it, and the pilot opened the cabin and let his boss sit in what appeared to be a co-pilot seat. The crystal semisphere closed over them.

“ _ Coronel, finish him! _ ”

“ _ Roger that, Sir _ ,” the pilot said through the speakers, and soon enough the suit extended both arms in my direction, ready to shoot a new round at me.

It had the decency to allow me to stand up, pat some dust out of my suit, grab an Ace, and get on a fighting stance. If I were to fall, I would do so in style and with all the honor and respect a hero should have on their last stand.

“Nova, Eclipse,” I mumbled, aware that they couldn’t hear me, “I’ll buy you as much time as I can. The rest is on you.”

* * *

Alright, so, in a way, what I’m about to do right now is kind of cheating. You see, what I’m about to tell you is not something I remember, it’s not even something that happened to me, but rather a retelling of things that occurred simultaneously to my fight against the mecha suit completely unknown to me.

From what I could figure out, Katherine Mulligan left the manor when I asked her to, and she even managed to get into one of the empty vans and recover her phone. I can’t tell the order of the calls, but the fact is that at some moment she managed to communicate with the fire department.

“This is Katherine Mulligan, calling from Wayne Avenue 1939, with urgent information for the chief of the department,” she must have said.

Somehow they had put her in touch with the brigade that was working at Tetherby’s warehouse, or maybe she just left a message to the central quarters and they talked with the brigade. The message was probably something like:

“You must tell Eclipse and Nova that their presence is required immediately in this address. Tetherby kidnapped me and brought a team of armed guards to steal a dangerous object that belonged to the original Ace Savvy. The new Ace is fighting to stop them right now, but he needs urgent reinforcements. Even someone as strong, brave, and handsome as him needs helps sometimes!”

Alright, alright, maybe not with those words. But the point is that she delivered the message that I needed Nova and Eclipse to get to the manor as soon as possible. How, when, or where they got told I needed them, that I’m not so sure, but Katherine did exactly as I asked her.

The obvious next thing to do would have been for her to run away, but that must have been the moment when Tetherby called for reinforcements. The mecha suit had been hidden inside the truck, and I guess that it didn’t exactly get into stealth mode when it flew over the manor and struck from the sky.

Any person with a sense of self-preservation would have run away from imminent danger. Katherine Mulligan, however, was the most experienced citizen in town when it came to metahumans and dangerous situations, and she carried a flame of courage and bravery like no other. Maybe that’s what Nifty Spades saw in her. Something they had in common. And so, instead of running away, she headed back into the manor.

I’m also not entirely sure how she managed this, but I imagine that she must have called one of the producers on the local news channel.

“ _ Katherine? Where have you been?! We were so worried, you wouldn’t—! _ ”

“There’s no time to explain!” She might have said. “I’ll video call you and you have to put me on the air!”

“ _ On air? What are you—? _ ”

“Just do it!”

I don’t know how the news works. I only know that I would eventually watch the videos on YouTube, and the recording would start this way:

“My name is Katherine Mulligan,” she said, using her phone to capture her face, hiding behind a bookcase but trying her best to stay serious and focused in the face of danger, “reporting live for Channel 7. After being kidnapped by none other than Lord Tetherby, CEO of Tetherby Industries, I’ve been freed by the young and brave Ace Savvy, who’s currently fighting against what appears to be an anti-hero battlesuit designed by Tetherby Industries. The situation is dire for our hero as we wait for the arrival of the police and the heroic duo of Nova and Eclipse. Ace Savvy is thus far the only bastion of defense against this unexpected threat, and it’s in him where our hope resides!”

She would then proceed to move her phone to capture the fight almost in its entirety. The news spread at the speed of interconnectivity, and as luck would have it, soon my confrontation against Tetherby and his pilot was being broadcasted to the entire town.

But, as I said, at the time I wasn’t aware of this…

* * *

As expected, the moment I moved towards him, the pilot shot at me. Having predicted this, I jumped in a zig-zag motion to avoid total disintegration. I threw a regular Ace at him, but it bounced on the glass with no effect. I kept advancing, trying to cut short the distance between us so it wouldn’t be an option for him to use his ranged weapon attacks. Even though it was fast and very, very powerful, it would be easier for me to dodge its fists.

He played right into my game, and as soon as I got in melee range, the robot put its guns away and closed its fists. It was moving surprisingly fast, sure, but with how big and mechanical its articulations were, it was easy to read its movements. When it threw the first punch, I stopped dead on my tracks, letting it crash on the floor right in front of me, annihilating it, and leaving a small crater. Some splinters that burst out left small cuts on my shins, but at the time I didn’t even feel them. I feinted moving to the left of the fist, tricking the pilot into doing its trademark spinning-torso move to swipe me. Of course, I canted my direction and moved in the opposite direction. Taking advantage of the few seconds of uncertainty, I ran right under the suit and threw three explosive Aces, one to each knee, and one below the main body.

The entire suit shook, and for a second the knees seemed about to give in, but it recovered faster than I expected, and spinning its torso once again, it turned to face me.

“ _ You can’t stop me! _ ” Yelled Tetherby through the speakers.

The suit raised both arms and then plummeted them down in a gorilla-smash fashion, trying to give me a  _ coup de grâce _ —I learned that from Stella. I managed to jump at the last second and avoid being reduced to a red stain on the floor.

“ _ You’re just a punk! An insolent! _ ”

The robot marched on and began to dish out a chain of attacks that lacked any sense or coordination but that, regardless, formed a storm of destruction that surrounded me leaving me almost nowhere to move. I had to activate my Ultra Instinct to survive. I couldn’t stop jumping from left to right, rolling, using my hands to push me back at the last second, throwing explosive cards to its arms to try to stop him, falling on my back to avoid a horizontal strike to decapitate me. And as relentless as the assault, Tetherby’s final boss’ threatening lines kept coming.

“You’ve messed with the wrong man! You are a nobody! A miserable wretch! An insignificant speck of feculent scum!”

I had no real possibility to counterattack. I could only dodge, trying to buy time.

Unfortunately, the longer this went on, the more I was exposing myself to a mistake, and that’s how I eventually didn’t manage to move in time, and I received a steel punch right on the side of my body. It felt like being run over by a car. The air left my lungs, my left arm almost shattered in a thousand pieces, and my whole body flew through the air like a ragdoll. I hit my back against a bookshelf, destroying it and falling to the ground with all those books and pieces of wood on top of me.

“ _ You’ll regret the day you crossed Lord Tetherby! _ ” He yelled.

It felt like I was going blind. Every muscle in my body ached and burned as if I had fallen on top of a pool of acid, and for several seconds, I could only see black spots in my eyes. With some tears falling down my face, I managed to look up just in time to see a couch flying in my direction. I could kneel, but I only had time to cross my arms in front of my face and chest. The furniture crashed into me, hitting my head and knocking me down against the wall. I felt like I was choking, and when I coughed, some blood came out of my mouth.

_ “Finish him, Colonel! Let him burn like the legacy of this cursed town!” _

_ “As you wish.” _

I heard a metallic sound, and with an inhuman effort, I managed to push myself out of the debris and stand up. My left knee hurt like it was only staying together with duct tape. I would have loved to be able to simply lie down and cry, but I got a little adrenaline rush when I saw the chest plate of the suit opening to show three missiles that were immediately launched. They left a smoke trail behind as they crossed the room in my direction.

My legs wouldn’t respond, but I had enough mental clarity to take my grappling hook and shoot it into the trophy room, moving just in time to avoid a direct hit. The shockwave though was strong enough to make me lose my grip on the gun and change my trajectory in the air, making me hit one of the pedestals where Ace Savvy kept his mementos.

I heard some screamings, and even though my brain was too busy trying to keep me awake by stabbing every nerve in my body with unbearable pain that blinded my mind, I managed to understand that some guards were trying to get their unconscious buddies out of the manor. When my vision stopped being so blurry, I saw an orange glow in the metallic ceiling of the trophy room, and between that and the smell, I realized the missiles had started a fire.

Between all the suffering, a part of me felt surprisingly relieved.

“There you go, Ace,” I said with my eyes lost to the ceiling. I could sense how my soul struggled to latch onto my body, and being this close to death, maybe it’d be easier for him to hear me. “Your house’s on fire. Just like I promised.”

“ _ There no point in fighting! _ ” Tetherby screamed with disgusting smugness. “ _ Even someone as foolish and stubborn as you must realize you are DOOMED! _ ”

And… yeah, the bastard was right. Even as I slowly caught my breath, I felt like a house of cards about to crumble. It was as if all my energies and will were occupied trying to keep me together, to keep me from falling apart. Each of my bones was surrounded by corrosive venom, and my muscle fibers were straining to the limit of their resistance.

I moved my head, and that’s when I saw it. Lying on the ground, glowing with soft red light, was the cube. The reason why I had my powers and skills. The object Tetherby was after, even if he didn’t know exactly what it was. And there it was. On plain sight, and everything that literally stood between it and the villain was me. I couldn’t depend on anyone else. The whole responsibility, and Royal Wood’s fate, were resting on my shoulders.

A thousand images flashed in my mind like fleeting glimpses of my memory. My parents, my brother, my friends, Jordan, Nova, Eclipse, Ace Savvy… I felt every one of them looking at me from somewhere, cheering me on to stand up, to get on my feet once again, and defend what was important.

I closed my fists and moved entirely by my will and spirit, I managed to turn my body until I was lying on my stomach.

“I’m a hero,” I told myself, gritting my teeth as my arms did the impossible to push me up.

“ _ Seriously? Do you really think you can stop me? _ ” Tetherby taunted me, laughing as he saw my pathetic body trying its best to stand up without falling apart in the process. “ _ You’re not fooling anyone, kid. There’s no scenario here where you win, there never has been. Royal Woods is a cursed city, one without heroes. People were stupid enough to put all their faith in Ace Savvy. I only had to send an anonymous package to Wild Card Willy to take him out of the equation. Humanity has put its hope in the wrong place! And when you die with your ruined reputation, the doors will finally open for me to be in control of everyone’s safety! Accept it! You would have lived longer if you didn’t allow your ego and delusion of grandeur to take over your life! _ ”

His laughter was lost in the sound of crackling wood just as the whole manor was filled with smoke and the flames extended relentlessly. The whole scene was a living image of pandemonium, and the feeling that the end was near increased with each passing second. And yet, every ragged breath I took filled me not only with air but a renewed sense of motivation and purpose. Just like the blazes around me, a fire grew inside of me, consuming every doubt and pain itself, giving me the last burst of strength I needed to overcome the adversity and put my life at risk just to buy more time.

It’s at this point that I will cheat again just to remind you that, without me knowing, the brave Katherine Mulligan was filming me from somewhere in the manor, exposing herself to the dangerous battle and the fire itself just so the city would know the truth. Had I known that the entire city would listen to my words, I might have been too embarrassed to give a speech, but right then I needed two things. First off, I needed to keep him entertained with words for a few more seconds as I recovered my strength, just so he wouldn’t shoot me. And secondly and most importantly, I needed to prove this megalomaniac just how terribly wrong he was.

“You don’t understand!” I yelled, looking up and puffing my chest to show him I wasn’t afraid. “We all put our faith in Ace Savvy cause he represented the best of us! He wasn’t the strongest metahuman. He wasn’t indestructible nor the most dangerous. Every day he went out to defend us he put his life in the line. But he never cared, cause that’s what heroes do!”

I took a step forward, making sure that I didn’t have any sprain or anything that compromised my mobility. Every muscle that I moved hurt like heck, but I could keep going. I could stand it. And as I kept going with my speech, I swiftly analyzed my surroundings. I was inside Ace Savvy’s trophy room, with almost all pedestals shattered and the mementos thrown into the floor. These were objects that belonged to villains Ace Savvy had defeated. Many of them, powerful weapons that I had studied and discussed in Ace Savvy’s subreddit.

A plan began to gestate in my head.

“I’m not afraid of death or you. You don’t have that power over me. I’m not doing this for fame or power either, which is something you would never understand. You think you’ll manage to control us all through fear and strength, but you’re wrong! Maybe the Royal Woods Curse is real, and maybe it’s not safe to be a hero, but do you really think no one will rise to do the right thing? The more scared and unprotected we feel, the more heroes will rise.”

I extended an arm, making my cape flourish in the air behind me, and pointed a finger at him.

“I’m here to stop you because that’s the right thing to do. There are two things I can do with my powers: to hide them and live a life of secrets and lies or use them to do what’s right and protect my city and friends. You think that by defeating me you’ll get rid of any new hero, but that’s just because you’re a greedy businessman empty inside that won’t understand hope never dies. I might die right here and now, but after me, new heroes will follow. Hope didn’t die with Ace Savvy, because as much as you try to end us all, there will always be someone who will stand up for what’s right.”

My muscles were still aching and cramped, but my own words had motivated me. I wasn’t fighting for my own life anymore. I was fighting for everyone else’s. For Ace Savvy’s honor. For the concept of heroism itself and everything it carried. There was too much at stake, and I had no other option than hope my plan would work.

And if it didn’t… then perhaps Eclipse and Nova wouldn’t be too far away and they would finish the job.

The robotic arms moved. I thought he’d shoot me right away, but instead, it only clapped, the metallic sound of the colliding hands booming strong.

“ _ Congratulations, Ace, you almost make me shed a tear _ .”

“I doubt someone as vile as you is capable of expressing such emotions.”

“ _ Yes, yes, I’m terrible, you’ve made your point. Very well, if you’re done with your little speech, I believe it’s time for you to die _ .”

“No,” I said, readying my next move and flashing a challenging smile at him, “it’s time to deal out some justice.”

I jumped ahead, rolling on the ground to cushion my fall. As I did so, I grabbed a particular object that was in my reach, and as soon as I managed to kneel, I moved my arm as hard as I could, throwing said object like a javelin. The small trophy crossed the air like an arrow and hit the mecha suit right in the middle of the chest… sticking to it harmlessly.

“ _ HAHAHAHA! Are you serious? _ ” Tetherby gloated, peeking over his pilot to get a better look. “ _ A plunger? Is this the best you have? _ ”

“It’s not a simple plunger,” I explained with a smile, “it’s the secret weapon of the Excusator!  _ Flush! _ ”

As soon as I exclaimed the secret word, a green light popped up on one extreme of the wooden stick, and the cup began to vibrate. Seconds later, it began twisting on its axis, and in doing so, it absolutely destroyed the suit’s armor, twisting the steel plates like paper. The Excusator had been quite a ridiculous villain, but he had what it took to break into bank’s vaults.

“ _ Take it off, take it off! It’s breaking the suit! _ ” Tetherby desperately screamed. The pilot began maneuvering the mecha’s arms, but it was hard for those big hands to get a grasp on the tiny plunger.

As they were busy with it, I went ahead and grabbed another object from Ace Savvy’s collection. In this case, it was a yellow katana with a blade that imitated the texture of what seemed to be cheese. This was none other than the infamous sword of the Cheese Shredder, the enemy of teenagers, metahumans, ninjas, and certain reptiles.

I charged at the robot, who managed to take the plunger out before it fully destroyed it, but it had nonetheless taken grave damages, leaving the insides of the suit out in the open. The rocket launcher seemed to be fully destroyed, which was a huge relief, and there was also a tiny hose losing a lot of oil.

“ _ You’ll pay for this, you schmuck! _ ” Yelled the pilot. He seemed positively enraged like I had just damaged his favorite car.

By now I was very close to their position, so he threw a punch at me full speed. I jumped aside and hurried to draw an arc with the golden sword. I didn’t cut the entire arm like maybe I had hoped, but I did manage to cause considerable damage to the arm, leaving a deep gash. The blade made a terrible shriek when it cut the steel, like someone dragging their nails on a chalkboard.

The pilot twisted the suit’s torso, a move that I was already expecting. I ducked just in time and then slipped between the robot’s legs, where I gave two strong swings with the sword to the left knee before it tried to stomp me. I managed to compromise the joint and the immense weight of the suit seemed to aggravate the situation, crushing part of it as well. The whole mecha suit was now slightly tilted, the right leg several inches taller than the left.

“ _ Just wait until I get my hands on you! _ ” He yelled, looking for me as I scurried behind the suit.

I used one of the ginormous metallic calves as a platform to jump higher. I raised both my arms and with a swift downward motion, I dragged the sword through one of the flexible tubes that protruded on its back. As soon as I cut it, a burst of cold air escaped, and the whole suit shook in its place, with one of the arms losing control and falling stiff and unmoving.

“ _ We’re losing pressure! _ ” The pilot warned.

“ _ DESTROY THIS FOOL! _ ”

The only inconvenience with that little stunt I pulled was that I couldn’t move while in the air. Those few seconds where I couldn’t move in the air reduced my reaction window to a fraction of a second, and I was, unfortunately, unable to move in time. My feet had barely touched the floor when the suit’s torso spun at full speed, and the dead arm swung by inertia, hitting me square in the back.

I lost my grip on the golden sword and flew past the fire, hitting a wall that, mostly consumed by the flames, shattered into a hundred pieces as I broke through it. The pieces of ember fell on top of me, and I hurried to shake them off before they burned me.

Tetherby and the pilot kept screaming insults and threats. I studied the battle suit for a few seconds and it was easy to see that the tide had turned, and I had renewed chances of winning. The front was destroyed and covered in black oil that kept pouring out of the sliced tubes. One of its arms wasn’t moving anymore. The damaged knee seemed to be on the brink of collapse. The whole mecha looked in a very poor state. Not that I was any better, but at least I had managed to balance the encounter.

It stretched the arm that still worked to try to shoot me, but that was the same arm I had previously damaged with the sword. After a few seconds of charging its shot, a blast of sparks covered it, and the beam of energy shot in a random direction far away from me.

“ _ YOU BASTARD! GET HIM! _ ”

The suit took a step forward, which turned out to be a fatal mistake. The moment it put the whole weight of the robot on the damaged knee, it pushed it past its limit, breaking it in half. The mecha suit fell prone on the floor, with one immobilized arm and a broken leg.

“ _ NOO! NOOO! TAKE HIM DOWN! DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY! SHOOT HIM! _ ”

With a few complicated maneuvers, the pilot managed to get the torso to rise a few inches and extend its working arm. They didn’t notice, but right then, having fallen on its front to the floor, the entire chest, cabin, and arms of the suit were covered in a very thick layer of black oil.

“Wait! Don’t shoot! You need to get out of the suit!”

I tried to warn them… I swear I tried to warn them.

“ _ SILENCE! YOU WILL NOT STOP ME! _ ”

Even though they were knocked down, with two destroyed limbs and surrounded by flames that had reached the second floor of the house, Tetherby was still obsessed with finishing me. He wasn’t thinking clearly, he wasn’t measuring the consequences.

“Don’t do it!”

“ _ KILL HIM! _ ”

The pilot did as it was told. The suit’s working arm began to shake as it charged up, but damaged as it was, it couldn’t aim at all. The energy beam was lost to the roof, breaking a new hole in it. Unfortunately and for my utter horror, the damages in the circuits and the armor provoked a new burst of sparks and electricity.

Sparks that hit the big pool of oil the suit was lying on. The fire spread within a second, burning bright with blue tones for but an instant before it lit up in an orange flash. It slithered inside the broken chest, and I saw with my own eyes how something inside seemed to detonate like a bomb.

The interior of the cabin shone with a blinding glow before the pressure ended up shattering the glass that covered it. I heard no screams, nor did I see any movement. Seconds later, the suit fell inert, with the cabin lighting up in blazes that showed nothing but the destruction caused by greed.

Some might think that a hero would feel relieved at a moment like that. It wasn’t my case. I felt like I was sick, about to empty my stomach right there. My knees wavered and I almost fell to the ground. I knelt there, speechless, stunned, watching the scene unfolding in front of me, waiting for a sign of life, that they had miraculously managed to escape…

Neither the pilot nor Tetherby walked out of the suit.

The heat around me was becoming unbearable, and I had trouble breathing. Everything around me was pure destruction and devastation. This is what Ace Savvy had asked me to do, and I should have been happy in that regard, but the truth is that I couldn’t help to feel a certain sense of chagrin as I saw the entire life of Nifty Spades being consumed by the raging fire.

Despite the extremely dangerous scenario I was in the middle of, I felt no rush to leave. Now that the adrenaline rush began to fade, every nerve of my body was filled once again with numb pain. I could barely move my arms. My chest was burning, and my head was screaming for me to lie down, even if I was in the middle of a fire.

A voice in my head, however, was still trying to bring me back to reality.

“Ace! You need to leave!”

The voice was insistent, but my body wasn’t able to react to my will. I stood there for several seconds, letting out a sigh. And the voice…

“Ace! You can’t stay there! It’s too dangerous!”

...wasn’t in my head? I turned to my right, and standing between two columns that were yet to be fully consumed by the fire was none other than Katherine Mulligan, her phone pointing at me and her eyes pleading for me to move.

And then before I could react, what remained of the blazing ceiling collapsed over me.


	10. With great power... you know.

The sound of the wooden beams cracking due to the fire and ultimately giving up under the weight of the structure itself was the music that announced what seemed to be my premature death as a young hero of Royal Woods.

“RUSTY! NO!” Yelled Katherine, but I barely heard her.

I looked up to see how the entire ceiling above me collapsed and crumbled right onto me. Chunks of wood, tiles, slate, and flames fell like a destructive firestorm aimed specifically at me. I saw it all getting closer, some wood beams broken and sharpened in the shape of stakes, ready to crush me at best or impale me if the universe really hated me that much. I wondered if that was karma. “Congrats, Lincoln, you stopped Tetherby, but you couldn’t manage to save him and let him be accountable for his actions in a trial and jail. Besides, because of you, the real Ace Savvy is dead, so sorry, but you have to go too.”

I didn’t know if that collapsing roof was going to kill me. Maybe not? Who knew? The truth is that my body wouldn’t respond, and though my instincts allowed me to see that whole destruction getting closer and closer to me, I couldn’t roll aside or crawl away in time. Between the unbearable heat, the smoke invading my lungs, and the pain that coated every cell in my organism, I didn’t feel in any condition to fight back. I closed my eyes and got ready for the worst.

The instants were everlasting as I braced myself for impact, and as that eternity extended, impatience consumed me as the fire did to the manor. It got to a moment however where I was aware that even if my instincts and danger altered my perception of time, I should have been already buried under a heavy layer of debris. It was then when I opened my eyes, and when I looked up, I noticed that everything that should be crushing me was floating in the air as if an invisible net had caught it just in time.

“Ace!” I heard, and my heart skipped a beat.

With a new injection of energy, I dragged my body to the left, coughing and covering my face with my elbow. I heard a whooshing sound and when I turned around, I witnessed Nova falling from the sky, her body covered with a shroud of blueish energy, and landing next to Katherine Mulligan.

“Hold on!” She said, and after the reporter put her arms around the heroine, they both took off once again, leaving at full speed.

For a single, selfish moment, I felt a bit disappointed, but then I reminded myself that she was a civilian and I was a hero. Her life and safety were more important than mine, and even if I was starting to get worried about the lack of clean air, I needed to keep prioritizing innocent people’s lives. She didn’t ask to be kidnapped and dragged into that whole situation. I, on the other hand, had willingly walked into that fight.

“Don’t worry, Ace,” said a voice from the sky.

The pieces of debris floating above me parted like the Red Sea, and right there, the beautiful Eclipse was descending until she was next to me. Locks of her long blonde hair waved in the air like living snakes just like Medusa’s, but rather than turning me into stone, seeing her eyes brought me hope and happiness.

“We didn’t forget about you,” she said with a smile.

I tried to smile back, but then I began to cough, louder this time. She hurried to put her arms around me and lift me like a child. It was a weird feeling since her arms didn’t seem to be strong enough to carry me, but as we glided out of the burning manor through the hole in the collapsed roof, I realized she was using her powers to make me lighter.

She probably could move me around without needing to cradle me like that, but to be honest, I wasn’t bothered by it. It felt nice to be carried that way by a heroine like Eclipse. Just as I thought about it, she smiled at me, and I remembered that her other superpower was sensing other people’s feelings. I guessed we both could feel embarrassment right then.

I assumed she would take me out of the building and drop me off on the sidewalk, but instead she took me for a little aerial ride. My entire body was aching, and my lungs were still burning on the inside, but I still felt amazed by the spectacle that was flying over Royal Woods. Never in my life had I been on a plane, but I was sure not even that could compete against the feeling of the wind hitting my face and chest as I stared at the place I had grown up from a new, unique perspective.

“Cool, isn’t it?” Eclipse asked me. “I love flying over the city. It’s so… relaxing, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, it’s… wonderful.”

“Wonderful indeed!” She repeated, nodding enthusiastically.

I continued admiring the landscape for a few instants, but the more seconds went by, the more the feeling of bewilderment and anxiety grew within my chest. Was she taking me to prison? To interrogate me? To her secret lair?

“Don’t worry, you’re in trouble,” she immediately reassured me.

“Wow, it’s so weird not being able to hide anything from you,” I admitted, a tad uncomfortably.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s not like I want to be nosey. Usually, I try not to say anything ‘cause I know people like hiding their feelings, but I thought it would be worse if you kept thinking you were in trouble.”

“Isn’t it something you can control? Your powers, I mean.”

She put on a thinking face. “No, not really. Every time I’m near someone, I can feel what they feel. It’s not that I can, like, turn it off, you know? It’s always on.”

“That must be… grueling.”

“Not really. What I don’t like is having to lie about what I know to let other people lie, ‘cause I don’t like lying. But I know people have to lie and conceal what they feel all the time, ‘cause if they don’t, they, like, feel vulnerable and uncomfortable. So I lie even though that makes  _ me  _ feel uncomfortable ‘cause I know that if other people aren’t allowed to lie  _ they  _ will feel uncomfortable, and I don’t like people feeling uncomfortable around me.”

“Because then you would  _ also  _ feel it,” I said, smiling at how ridiculously complicated the whole situation was.

She chuckled. “You’re so smart!”

“Not as smart as I’d want,” I admitted out loud since I knew that even if I didn’t, she would know. “Can I ask you where we’re going?”

“Somewhere quiet to chat.”

I decided not to ask any more questions. I was worried, I can’t lie, but so far Eclipse hadn’t given me any reason to distrust her or feel that something wrong was going to happen, so I decided to go along.

The trip was shorter than I expected, and we both landed at the top of the Yates Tower, the tallest building in town. It wasn’t technically a skyscraper since our city wasn’t a metropolis, but the Yates family building rose over the skyline like an urban landmark. The height gave me vertigo, and when I leaned over the edge to look down, a horrible feeling went down my spine.

“So… what do you want to talk about?” I asked, trying to break the ice.

“Let’s wait for Nova to get here,” she answered. “She must be talking with the news lady to get everything cleared out before getting here. Hmm. I forgot the lady’s name.”

I laughed a bit but doing so hurt my ribs.

“Do you mind if I sit down?”

“Not at all. While we wait, what’s your favorite color?”

To my surprise, we spent ten whole minutes talking about the banalest things in the world. Our favorite colors, food, movies, total nonsense. It was a completely surreal experience to be there, closer to the cloud than I had ever been, keeping a casual conversation with none other than Eclipse herself.

Eventually, Nova crossed the sky like a shooting star, landing next to us. She looked tired, which wasn’t a surprise. They had been working at a fire for hours just to have to rush to Ace Savvy’s manor to save my butt.

“Thanks for saving me,” I said now that they were both there. “I asked Katherine Mulligan to call you. I was so lucky you got there in time. If you hadn’t stopped that collapsing roof…”

“You went after Tetherby, again,” Nova interrupted me, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why?”

I sighed, and my exhausted body took a toll on me. I was worried this might happen, but deep down I knew it was coming. And with Eclipse by my side, lying was pointless.

“Nova, I’m sorry for everything I’ve done, and what happened last night. You’re right, I should’ve listened to you. Because of me… innocent people got hurt. I wasn’t ready. I thought I was, but I’m not. This is the second time you guys had to save me. I’m sorry.”

Nova looked at her sister.

“Totes honest,” she said.

“Alright then… Look, Ace, I’ll be honest. Eclipse is convinced that you’re a good person, and she’s never wrong about this stuff. I trust her with my life, and that means I trust you too. I think we started with the wrong foot, and that’s probably my fault. I’m not… used to work with new heroes. I like doing things my way, and when you attacked Tetherby’s warehouse… Whatever. What I mean is that some serious stuff happened in the last twenty-four hours, and I’d like to hear your side of the story.”

“We’re not blaming you or anything,” Eclipse quickly said. “We just want to know what happened, ‘cause we’re not sure.”

I sighed and stood up, not without some difficulty. I turned my back to them to stare at the city. On both sides of my vision, small columns of smoke rose, one much more active and thick than the other.

“You can take a seat if you want,” I said, turning to look at them. “It’s… a complicated story.”

* * *

I proceeded to be as honest as possible without compromising my secret identity, which turned out to be much more complicated than I thought. I remembered that I had revealed my real name to them back at Ace Savvy’s funeral, and I had mentioned that I was the only witness of his death. I apparently couldn’t lie to Eclipse, so I had to resort to simply omitting part of the truth.

Without getting into many details, I explained that I knew that Ace Savvy had died due to some experimental weapons, and the conversation I had had with Tetherby the night Nova stopped me from hurting him had given me the impression that he had been involved. That’s why I had decided to infiltrate his warehouse, and everything was going well until they sent some guards to stop a trespassing child. That just a few hours ago I made up my mind to try to stop Tehterby after I theorized he had kidnapped Katherine Mulligan to get a dangerous item from Ace Savvy’s armory. I had to be very vague and evasive, but I conveyed the idea that Ace Savvy had asked me, in case he died, to burn his home down, something I hadn’t done yet because I wasn’t strong and selfless enough.

“I couldn’t waste a second, I needed to stop him from getting that object. I knew right away that the warehouse fire was a misdirection,” I explained. “He just wanted to clean his tracks and keep you two busy long enough for him to get what he wanted.”

“Hold on,” said Nova, rubbing her temples, “how did you know about Ace Savvy’s home? And why did you know about such a dangerous item was in his possession?”

My throat was dry. I had nothing else to do or say, and I hoped this would work. I turned to look at Eclipse.

“I can’t answer that. It’s… private. But I didn’t go there for revenge, not even to make sure Tetherby got what he deserved. I just wanted to protect everyone. Make sure the city was safe. I just did what Ace Savvy would have done.”

Eclipse stared at me with an intrigued look, a hand under her chin as she contemplated my words. Nova seemed more anxious.

“Ace Savvy meant a lot to me,” she said, giving me an intense glare. “He… I’m who I am thanks to him. And he never spoke to me about any family, or friend, or… anyone like you. What’s your deal with him? Are you really his son? Why do you know so much about him? Why do you have—?”

“Nova,” her sister interrupted her, “let him be.”

“But—!”

“His secret identity is none of our business. Isn’t that our number one rule?”

Nova sighed. “Alright. Alright. You’re right. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” I said, understanding where she was coming from. “I don’t know what your relationship with him was like either, but trust me, he was my idol. Everything I do, everything I’ve done… I’m just trying to live the way he’d want me to. I wanna live up to—”

“...the potential he saw in all of us,” she finished for me.

“Exactly.”

We stayed in silence for a few seconds, until Eclipse said, “Huh, you two are very alike. That’s awesome!”

The three of us smiled. Being compared with a much more powerful, seasoned heroine was a great compliment.

“Alright. This is a lot to take in,” said Nova, getting closer to me. “I asked you not to get involved, I said that’s not what a hero would do. You completely ignored me to trust your heart, and because of it, you stopped what could have been a huge setback for the whole town. Maybe you’re more reckless than I’d like… but I think you’ll be a worthy successor of the mantle.”

And with that, she extended an open hand to me, giving me the warmest smile I had seen from her in person yet.

“Welcome to the heroes’ club, Ace Savvy.”

I felt like crying with joy. I shook her hand, feeling unbelievably proud of myself.

“This won’t be the last time we meet. Maybe next time we can get to know each other a little better. Right now there are some important things to handle. I’ll go to Ace’s house, deal with the press, and ask the firefighters to let it all burn down. If Ace trusted that a fire would be enough to get rid of everything dangerous in his home… We have to trust him.”

The energy shrouded her again, and she lifted a few inches off the air.

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up with you,” Eclipse said.

Nova shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, whatever. Until next time, Ace.”

And with that, she flew away, leaving me alone with Eclipse. I turned to thank her for her trust, but I stopped dead on my tracks when I saw she was taking off her mask, letting me look at her unobstructed teenage face. She was stunningly beautiful, but I was so shocked I didn’t appreciate it at the time. I couldn’t believe she was giving away her secret identity like this.

“My real name is Leni,” she said with a smile.

“W-What are you doing? Eclipse, I-I, I don’t, you shouldn’t do this. Do you, uh, expect me to take my mask off too? I just… I have f-family, and I wouldn’t want to—”

“It’s ok,” she said, giggling at my anxiousness. “You don’t need to do anything. I just wanted us to be even.”

“Even?”

“You’ve already told me your real name,” she said with an intense look and a gentle smile.

My world turned around, and if it wasn’t because I hadn’t even had breakfast, I might have thrown up. “How…?”

“I sensed how anxious you felt when you talked about Ace Savvy. And how guilty. I’ve already felt that before.”

“Wow…”

“You don’t need to give me your last name or anything. And don’t worry, I won’t tell Nova or anyone else about this. But I thought it was only fair that we both knew each other’s names. I know you’re not gonna do anything bad with mine.”

She put on her mask once again, and startling me, she grabbed me by the hand before making us both float.

“You don’t need to tell me where you live, but let me know where you want me to drop you off. You’re hurt and tired, you need to rest.”

“Uh… just take me to the park. I can work from there.”

“Perfect! Let’s go!”

Once again, we crossed the skies, this time holding hands, making me feel even more like I was flying myself.

“And, you know, I don’t wanna get into personal stuff, but I really think you shouldn’t feel so guilty. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m sure you’re not responsible for it. Judging by what you said, Tetherby was behind this whole thing. And you managed to stop him before he could keep hurting people. I’m sure Ace Savvy would be proud.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course,” she said with a smile. “You know I don’t like lying!”

* * *

“Lincoln. Lincoln, wake up.”

A second before my dad shook me awake, I was in what can basically be described as a hibernating state. After getting home, I had taken an ice bath to loosen up my muscles and clean the superficial cuts I had. Most of them were starting to heal already —which was fascinating and a bit scary to see—, but even then I didn’t want to risk getting an infection or anything serious. My entire body was numb with pain, and after dressing up, my head had barely touched the pillow before I fell prey to the deepest sleep I had ever experienced. It was like instead of turning off a computer in the traditional way, closing the apps and the corresponding buttons, someone had decided to just cut off the electricity in the entire house.

Even then, like every time since I got my powers, seconds after waking up I found myself fully alert. And so, the moment I recognized Howard’s voice and his hands on my shoulders I turned to him filled with regret.

“Dad!” I said, sitting right away and jumping at him to give him a tight hug, making my bones and muscles ache. “Dad, I’m so sorry! I’m sorry! How’s Clyde doing? How did it go?”

“It’s fine,” he reassured me, holding me tight. “Surgery’s over and he’s awake. We could talk to him.”

“Is he alright? Is he gonna get better?” I asked, feeling desperate.

“He’s… not in danger.”

“But is he okay? Can I go see him? Please?”

“We will, son. But… there’s something we need to talk about before going to the hospital.”

He let me go for a second, sitting next to me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I stared at him expectantly. He looked worried, and my heart was beating furiously.

“Is this about Clyde? Is something wrong with him?” I asked, not knowing if I was ready for the answer.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said, which didn’t help me at all, “but before I left the hospital, we talked with him. And he told us why you snuck out last night.”

The lie I had been living crumbled around me, and I had nothing to do but watch it fall. I should have been worried, scared, confused, but I realized that was just what I deserved. Knowing my parents, this would be the end of my career as a superhero. There was no way they would allow me to keep doing my vigilante escapades. They were terrified of danger and the idea that something bad could happen to us. And to be honest, they were right to feel that way, since in less than twenty-four hours I had almost died twice, and I had sent my brother to surgery. I didn’t have much to say in my defense. I could only shut up and accept the nagging and punishment they decided was best for me.

“Dad… I…”

“You should have talked with us, we didn’t know it was so serious.”

“I-I’m sorry,” I said, feeling tears flooding my eyes. “I know I should have. B-But I didn’t want to worry you, and I… I didn’t know how to…”

“No, no, it’s our fault,” said Howard, hugging me. “We lied to you for so many years. We shouldn’t have done that. You should have known the truth, but we were afraid the truth would hurt you. We thought we were keeping you safe, and yet… we were only causing you more pain.”

I moved away a bit. My tears stopped falling for a second as I stared at him confused.

“What do you mean?” I asked, not so sure anymore that we were on the same page.

“You know… your biological parents,” he said, sounding embarrassed.

And once again, my heart skipped a beat.

“What about them?” I asked with a dry throat.

“Clyde told us you went after some clues about them. I can’t blame you. Yesterday you asked us about your mother, and we ignored your questions. We shouldn’t have done it. This is all our fault.”

I wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that this was all  _ my _ fault, that he had no reason to apologize. Part of me even wanted to seize the moment to come clean and talk about my powers. But this was the first time that he mentioned my parents without me asking first, and the words he said before were still ringing in my mind.

“What do you mean you’ve been lying to me for years?”

“Your… your biological parents didn’t die in an accident.”

My heart stood still and so did time and space. My brain stopped working for some long, eternal seconds. I don’t know if I even breathed, and I’m almost sure he didn’t either.

“What do you mean? W-What happened to him?”

“We don’t know.”

“But how…?”

He sighed and pulled me in for a new hug. “Many years ago, when Clyde was barely a baby, the three of us went to Nana Gayle’s cottage in the woods. In the middle of the night, your dad and I decided to take a walk, we wanted to find a place to take a picture of the moon. We were setting up when we heard an explosion.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere in the woods. We got scared, but we thought maybe people were in danger. We got closer to investigate… and your mother ran into us.”

My whole body shook, and a cold shiver went down my spine. “M-My mother?”

“Yes. She was blonde, very beautiful, but I’ll never forget how terrified she looked. We saw she was carrying a baby, a child that couldn’t even be two years old. It was you, and you looked… tired, but you weren’t crying. She did. We asked what was wrong, we offered help, but…”

He stopped, and right then I noticed that he was struggling to stop himself from crying.

“What happened?”

“She… hugged you, cried harder, and then she asked us to take you away from there. To protect you and never say anything to anyone about her. We tried to ask her questions, but she was heartbroken and terrified. She was looking over her shoulder and asked us to leave right away. We… didn’t know what to do. We took you in, she ran away, and that same night we came back home with two sons instead of one. The adoption was hard to we managed to get it, and since then you’ve been with us. But… that’s the truth. We don’t know who your mother was, nor what happened that night, but she asked us to keep you safe, and that’s what we’ve done for ten years. We never told you the truth because… we were afraid you’d think she left you because she didn’t love you. But Lincoln, I swear on everything sacred in this life, I’ve never seen a person cry as much for their son the way your mother did the night she said goodbye to you. Whatever made her take that decision… it wasn’t your fault.”

It was a lot to take in and process to my tired mind and confused heart. For my entire life, I had never felt more than a mild curiosity regarding my biological parents, believing that they were dead and there was no point in trying to know about them. And now not only had I had a dream where I remembered my mother’s voice, but I had also just been told by my dad the true circumstances in where they met me.

And what he said was starting to match my dreams. A cabin, a wood, a firestorm, a mysterious figure in the center of it, an eerie wail…

For several minutes, none of us said a word, but we did shed some tears. There silent minutes where I was drowning in a tsunami of emotions and possibilities that I had never encountered or considered before. There was a chance my biological parents were alive somewhere. That they weren’t dead. And judging by my dreams and what my dad told me, there had been a horrible reason for them to give me away. What could have it been? What pieces of the puzzle was I missing? What was my true origin?

These and more questions were racing in my mind, but right then, surrounded by my dad’s arm, I realized that there were more important things. My past was an enigmatic nebula that I would love to explore and decipher, but my reality was in the present, and my adoptive family was much more concrete and real than the one that my dreams showed me.

“How’s Clyde?” I asked, trying to get back to what was immediate and critical.

The somber look he gave me and the way he held onto me tighter made me wish I hadn’t asked.

* * *

My return to school didn’t occur until three days later, and that wasn’t even me going back to class, but rather having a talk with my teacher. My mind wasn’t in the right place, and that was enough for my parents to allow me to spend a few days going between the house and the hospital. I needed them to ruminate, take in, and gain perspective on the crazy events that I had been a part of in such a short period of time. And also to make sure my body could recover from the brutal beating it had endured. The cuts and bruises healed quick enough to hide them from my parents, but my muscles and bones took much longer to stop hurting. It’s not that I could complain; had I been a regular person, I would have probably died, so I had to be thankful, all things considered.

Those few days of rest allowed me to recover and adapt to all the changes my life had had. I couldn’t keep locking myself in a bubble where I only had contact with my family, however; at some point, I needed to reinsert myself into real life. I hadn’t even really talked much with my friends. The gang understood that my family and I needed some time alone to adapt to our new reality. But it was now time to get back into normality.

My dads left me at school to talk with my teacher while they drove to the hospital to finally take Clyde out. She would talk to me during her break while the rest of my classmates were in gym class. Walking into school in the middle of the morning without having to go to class was a weird feeling. I felt like a stranger in those empty halls, walking with no responsibilities. It was a new perspective, a very interesting one.

Even more interesting was seeing all the posters and tags dedicated to me. Not Lincoln McBride, but the new Ace Savvy. By then I had already seen all the YouTube videos and the whole coverage Katherine Mulligan did of my battle against Tetherby. Thanks to them, in just a matter of hours I went from public enemy number one to a revolutionary figure. I was in everyone’s conversations. My subreddit was going nuts, with people going non-stop about how inspired they felt by my impromptu speech against Tetherby. It helped a lot that Nova made sure to publicly defend me that same morning when the press pressured her into giving statements.

“ _ Ace Savvy has not just saved the entire city from what could have been a dire turning point; he’s also done something much more important. He reminded us that there will always be new heroes rising to stand up when we need them the most. That there will always be hope. _ ”

My positive image had grown exponentially, but I wasn’t the only person in my group of friends that had become a small celebrity at school. I guess it was kinda my fault for lying to Katherine Mulligan by giving her a false name. That little lie ended up saving me, since in a moment of desperation and while under the effects of the truth serum, she had accidentally “revealed” my name. It was a perfect excuse that practically freed me from any possible suspicion on whether I was a superhero or not.

Of course, the main benefactor of this mixup was Rusty. No one at school truly believed that he was Ace Savvy, but the fact that he seemingly shared a name with the new hero had turned him into a popular kid. Besides, as improbable as it seemed, it wasn’t exactly  _ impossible _ that it was him. No one would say it out loud, but there was a certain degree of speculation. What if it was, in fact, him? Rusty would always deny it, but he was astute by doing it with an ironic smile as if saying “If I was, I wouldn’t tell you”.

A part of me was afraid that he would start taking this way too seriously to try and take advantage of it, but for now, he was only just getting a bit more attention than usual. None of us had ever been popular at school, so I didn’t see anything wrong in letting him enjoy his moments of fame.

There were many more important things to worry about.

* * *

“I understand what you’re saying,” Mrs. Johnson explained to me, sitting behind her desk, “but given the circumstances, I think you’re exaggerating. It was just a presentation on your project progress, I’m not going to fail you because of it, especially given what happened to your brother.”

After waiting twenty minutes for her to finish lunch, my teacher received me in the empty classroom so I could explain that I didn’t feel comfortable about getting an extension on the project deadline after she found out about Clyde’s accident.

“It’s just that it’s not an excuse,” I argued, “I could have ended my part before the accident. I promised I would have it ready before it, but I decided to focus on other stuff, and  _ then _ it happened. Jordan did her whole part in time and sent it to me, she  _ was _ responsible. Just… please give  _ her  _ the grade she deserves.”

She drummed her desk with her fingers, giving me a long, deep look that seemed to be staring at my very soul. I was ready to accept a bad grade. My main concern was making sure that Jordan didn’t get one, but throughout those couple of days, I had also realized that it was entirely my fault that we didn’t’ finish our project in time. Even if people were ready to excuse my failure because of what happened to Clyde, it wasn’t right for me to take advantage of it.

“Very well. In that case, you have until next week to present the finished work. She’ll get a grading as if she presented it in time, and you’ll have… a reduction in your grade just like any other student that delivered past the deadline. Does that seem fair?”

“Of course,” I hurriedly said. “It’s more than fair.”

“Alright then. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me this, Lincoln. It’s very mature on your part.”

“I just want to follow the rules. Thanks, Mrs. Johnson!”

“No problem. I hope to see you soon, and for Clyde to get better.”

I gave her a forced smile. I would be getting back to school the next day. Clyde? Hard to tell. Whenever he was ready.

I left the classroom and walked to the exit, where I would wait for my dads to pick me up. I didn’t know how long it would take them, but hopefully, Clyde had been discharged from the hospital already. I needed to talk with him one on one. There were many things we needed to discuss, but there was always a doctor or one of our dads around in the hospital room, and we didn’t have the privacy we needed. We had barely been able to exchange a few words about what had happened.

* * *

“Why didn’t you tell them the truth?” I had whispered to him, grabbing his hand.

“I don’t know how any of this happened,” he said, while he used his other hand to study a rubber ball the doctors had given him, “but now I know why I noticed you were acting weird. And I don’t blame you for not telling me sooner. I don’t know what I would have done in your place, probably the same as you. We’ve always dreamed about being superheroes… and now you’re living the dream! I wouldn’t rat you out just like that.”

He smiled at me and threw the ball up, trying to catch it. He failed by a few inches, and I had to quickly stretch my arm to catch it before it bounced away from the bed. I grabbed it and squeezed it, feeling terrible about myself.

“This is all my fault. I should have talked with you. If I hadn’t kept this as a secret—”

“I would have loved to know about this earlier,” he admitted, taking the ball out of my hand and throwing it up in the air once again, failing to catch it. “But… maybe I would have reacted differently. I would have been worried sick. I might have tried to stop you.”

“And now you don’t?”

“No. Not after those videos.” After the third failed attempt to catch the ball, he sighed and left it aside. “I don’t like the idea of you risking your life, but you were right with what you told Tetherby. You have these powers, and not using them would be a waste. There’s a lot of people that need a hero in their lives, and I’m sure you’ll become the greatest hero ever. You’re a good person, and you have my support. Clincoln McBride for life!”

His support meant everything to me. “Clincoln McBride for life.”

We would have kept talking, but the doctor in charge of his rehabilitation walked into the room before we could continue, and it wasn’t like we could tell him to come back later or ignore him.

He needed to change the bandages four times a day to keep the eye socket from getting an infection.

* * *

My memories and the unnerving guilt that ate my insides were interrupted by a voice that lived rent-free in my head and visited me at night during my happiest dreams.

“Lincoln!”

My heart beat faster and I inhaled a sharp breath. And it’s that, superpowers or not, hero or common child, all my strength and barriers fell apart in the presence of Jordan. I turned just in time to see her dashing in my direction in her gym uniform that made her look even prettier than usual if that was even possible. When she reached my side, I noticed she was disheveled and blushing, probably because of the physical activity she was doing. Some might have described her as kinda scrubby right then. To me, she looked beautiful and authentic.

“Jordan! What are you doing here?”

Before she answered me, she surprised me by closing the distance between us with a short, very heartfelt hug.

“Coach sent me to ask the principal if it was legal for him to throw surprise balls at us in Dodgeball to teach us to expect the unexpected,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “What are  _ you _ doing here?”

“I, uh… I came to talk with Mrs. J.”

“Oh?” She said, looking at me with curiosity. “What did you talk about?”

“It’s not important right now,” I said blushing a bit. Part of me didn’t want to tell her exactly what I’d done. I didn’t want to look like a simp, you know? “Just some stuff about homework and, uh, our project.”

“Lincoln, you do know that the project doesn’t matter, right?” She softly asked, putting a hand on my arm and squeezing it.

“It’s important to me.”

“There are more important things.”

“Yeah, there are. But I broke my promise that I’d finish it in time, and I don’t like breaking promises.”

Jordan sighed, smiling at me as she fidgeted with her braid. “Just as much of a paladin in real life as you are in our campaign, aren’t you? Always so noble.”

I chuckled at the compliment.

“I’m just trying to be a good person, what’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, there’s nothing wrong with it actually. It’s… kinda cute.”

The bell signaling the end of a period saved me from looking like an idiot, paralyzed and shocked by Jordan’s unexpected choice of words.

“Oh, dang it, I didn’t get to talk with the principal,” she said, realizing that maybe she had wasted a lot of time with me. “I know you’re busy with everything about Clyde and stuff, but, uh, would you like to hang out this weekend? Whenever you want. It can be in your house or somewhere else.”

“Jordan, you already finished your part of the project,” I said, slowly shaking my head. “Don’t worry about my part. I’ll do it myself like I should’ve done in the first place.”

“I didn’t mean homework… Just… you know, spend some time together…”

Following the bell, the classroom doors were opened and the hall we were in was flooded with boys and girls of all ages actively trying to avoid running into the two eleven years old that were standing two feet apart from each other, avoiding visual contact.

“...oh.”

“Yeah…”

“I mean… I, uh… Well…”

“Just think about it, okay?”

“No! I mean, yes. Yeah, I, uh, that’d be cool,” I said, trying not to sound desperate.

She smiled at me.

“Well alright, then! I gotta go change and get ready for the net class. Talk to ya later?”

“Y-Yeah, sure! S-See ya!”

“Say hi to Clyde!”

I stood there, waving my hand at her until an eighth-grader accidentally bumped me in the shoulder and brought me back to reality. Remembering that my dads were going to pick me up outside of school, I went there with the stupidest smile plastered on my face.

Being a hero is complicated. It’s exhausting. It’s difficult and dangerous. I’m not a super responsible person, I make mistakes and innocent people are put in danger because of me. Leading a double life is arduous, not to mention that every time I put on my suit and went out to fight crime, I was risking my life. It was a heavy burden to carry, a weight on my shoulders that, sometimes, I felt I wasn’t strong enough to carry.

But I had begun to comprehend that it wasn’t a burden I had to carry on my own. There were a lot of people around me willing to share it, maybe not carry it for me, but definitely lighten it up. Leni… I mean, Eclipse and Nova had accepted me as a hero. My parents reminded me every day that I was loved, which may not sound like much, but it meant everything for me. I had my brother’s unconditional support, even if I had failed him, and that vote of confidence gave me the strength to keep going and learn from my mistakes. My friends, and Jordan in particular, kept reminding me why I had taken on the mantle. To protect those who made my life worth living. To give back to the city a little bit of what it gave me.

Yeah, being a hero isn’t easy. It’s a full-time job that’s very demanding and stressful. And yet, it didn’t even cross my head to give it up.

Because with great power…

You know.

> The end.

* * *

_. _

_. _

_. _

_ And thus I can finally bring closure to the first entry in the Heroverse. _

_ This took longer than expected lmao not gonna lie. It’s a very complicated process. Sometimes I think about dropping the translation process to save myself the long, tedious, slow, and boring hours of rewriting. But the truth is that even if the numbers aren’t the best, I immensely enjoy reading every single review that you guys leave, and those give me the energy to keep going with such a tedious process just so I can keep interacting with this side of the fanfiction fandom. _

_ Writing this thing has taught me a lot. Things that I hope I can apply to the next entry of the Heroverse that will focus on Luna and Sam. Before I start to write that story though I’ll finish the second part of the unofficial Requiem epilogue, so be on the lookout for that too! _

_ And that’s all, thanks to everyone that reviewed. Thanks for getting this far into the story, you may now leave the page. _

_ … _

_ Hang on, why aren’t the theater lights turning on? Why isn’t everyone standing up? _

_ Is it…? _

_ Could it be…? _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

* * *

“Remember, if you need anything, just give us a call, okay?” Howard said, looking at me from the companion’s seat.

“And if anything urgent happens or you need someone to keep you company, knock on the neighbors’ door,” Harold added.

“Yeah, no problem,” I replied, fist-bumping Clyde and getting out of the car with my school bag over my shoulders.

“We’ll be back as soon as the doctors finish the routine check, it shouldn’t be more than an hour. Alright?”

“Sure! Good luck!”

I waved my family goodbye as they drove away towards the hospital, and as soon as they turned around the corner, I skipped to my house with a smile on my face. During lunch, Jordan had taken me aside to ask me if I was interested in going to the mall with her on Friday. This was the second time she asked me out, and considering how much fun we had the first time, I was more than willing and excited to spend another afternoon together. A new possibility to get to know each other, to talk about our likes, the new series we were watching… to simply enjoy each other’s company.

I was practically jumping with joy and radiating happiness when I walked into the house. I closed the door behind me and went straight into my room, opening the door while already thinking about everything Jordan and I could do on Friday.

And it was because of that distraction and the good mood I was in that, as I entered my room, I almost had a heart attack.

“Greetings, Ace Savvy. We’ve been waiting for you.”

My room was invaded by two figures, two girls. One of them was around my age, maybe slightly older, wearing sports shorts and a basketball tanktop, lying down on my bed as she threw and caught the rubber ball Clyde used for his depth perception exercises. She had long, chestnut hair on a ponytail that was currently splayed out on my pillow, and as soon as she saw me, she sat up and smiled at me with curiosity and expectation.

The other girl, who had called me by my superhero name, was much younger, right out of kindergarten. She also had brown hair, but short and completely disheveled. She was wearing a green sweater and some big, round glasses. What immediately caught my attention, however, was the fact that she was sitting on some kind of metallic, semicircular chair with LED lights and touchscreens that seemed right out of a science fiction movie.

Oh, and it was floating three feet over the floor.

I had to think fast. I didn’t know either of these girls, and they had somehow figured out my secret identity and were waiting for me in my own room. And what about that floating chair? I could only think that it was an invention of Tetherby Industries. If my secret identity had been compromised, so was my family. This was bad, really, really bad.

Without giving it a second thought, I grabbed one of Clyde’s Math trophies and threw it to the chair, hoping to break it before it activated a weapon or something.

There was a flash of chestnut and red, and suddenly the whole room felt warmer. In the blink of an eye, the girl that had been lying on my bed seemed to teleport, and without me realizing how it was possible, she was now standing between me and the other girl with the trophy in her hands.

“Wowowo, time out!” She said, raising an eyebrow and gently dropping the trophy on my bed. “Relax, snowflake. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

“You’re a meta,” I said, realizing that the situation was direr than I thought.

She gave me a proud smile, putting her hands on her waist and tilting her head. “Royal Wood’s number one, baby! Trust me, you don’t wanna fight me.”

Perhaps not. I had no information or clue regarding what her powers were all about or what they were after. Fighting didn’t seem like a smart option, which only left me with one choice. Running. I turned around and tried to dash to the house entry as fast as my legs allowed me.

Once again, however, a warm gust of wind hit me in the face, and the girl’s right hand stopped me from running into her now that she was suddenly standing in front of me in the hall outside my room.

“Yo, chillax dude!” She said, sounding slightly pissed off and gently trying to push me back with her hand. I hit the hand she had on my chest with my forearm and readied myself to grab her and apply a judo move to get her out of the way. But she replied by blocking my grab, closing her hand around my wrist, pulling me down to make me lose my balance, and then throwing me back into my room. I tried to stand up, but she put her feet on my back.

“That is enough, Lynn,” said the girl in the chair, and that’s when I noticed she had a lateral lisp.

“Aw, but we’re just playing around!”

“If he wishes so, he may entertain you with a friendly sparring session later. We have more important matters to attend to.”

The teenager, Lynn, groaned and took her foot out of my back. She knelt next to me and offered me a hand.

“That was fun! We should do it again. Best of five?”

“I know you may have many questions, but I promise we’re not here with any intention of antagonizing you nor putting you or your family in danger,” the child assured me, seeming to use big words for someone so young.

I was positively confused and scared, but at the same time, I acknowledged that I was in numerical inferiority, and unlike them, I was lacking information. With an anxious sigh, I accepted the hand Lynn offered me, and she helped me stand up.

“Nice work, Brainiac,” she told the girl, winking at her.

“Don’t call me that,” she complained before looking at me. “You might be wondering why I’ve summoned you here…”

“What are you talking about? This is my house!”

“...my name is Lisa, and she is Lynn,” she announced, ignoring my complaints. “We’re both metahumans and citizens of Royal Woods. We’ve been living on our own for the past two years, gathering information and studying everything that’s going on in this town from the shadows. And it is with a certain amount of apprehension that I must confess that, since the death of the original Ace Savvy, the political climate and the power balance in the city has been compromised. Dark times are ahead of us, and without our most important protector, I estimate that our town has minuscule chances of survival and keeping the status quo.”

“Get to the point,” Lynn said, looking at her nails.

Lisa glared at her before letting out a sigh.

“Lincoln McBride, I’m aware that you’re none other than the new Ace Savvy, and you have shown determination in protecting the city. That is a herculean task too big for you to do alone, isn’t it?”

“Well… yeah, I suppose,” I said, crossing my arms and trying to discern Lisa’s intentions. “Why?”

She smiled and her chair glided closer, looking me straight in the eye as she pressed the tip of her fingers together.

“I would like to talk to you about the L.O.U.D. Initiative.”


End file.
